eligious Vocations 



FRANK M. LOWE, JR., A.M. 



liiii 





Class lSy/r 

Book 

Copyright N^ 



C0P»R!G5rr DEPOSIT. 



Religious Vocations 

A Text-Book for the Church ''Class in Occu- 
pations" aud Hand-hook of Information 
for Pastors, Parents, Teachers, and 
other Counsellors of Christian 
Youth. 



BY 



FRANK M. LOWE, JR., A.M. 




United Society of Christian Endeavor 
Boston Chicago 






Copyrighted by the 

United Society of Christian Endeavor 

1921 



AUG 31 1921 
©CI.A624146 



To 

Dean Granville D. Edwards 

Teacher, Counsellor, Friend 



INTRODUCTION 

Purpose 

To give needed information to Christian young people facing 
life decisions, and to provide parents, teachers, pastors, and 
others with a handbook of reference is the purpose of this 
book. 

Scope 

To set forth the programme of work, the number of workers, 
the salary, the openings, the joys, the drawbacks, the essen- 
tial preparation, and the desirable personality in the worker 
in each of a number of main types of salaried service among 
ministers, missionaries, and laymen in positions within or 
closely affiliated with the evangelical Protestant church is 
its scope. 

Method 

* ' Job analysis, ' ' based upon a study of original sources, 
intervicAvs, and returns from representative groups of workers 
in each occupation, has been used as far as possible through- 
out the study. 

Acknowledgments 

Several hundred individuals have given courteous co-operatioji 
and genuine help, sincerely appreciated. Especial thanks are 
due Dr. David Sneddon, of Teachers' College; to Dr. John 
M. Brewer, of Harvard, whose stimulating teaching of voca- 
tional guidance inspired the idea; to Mr, E. W. Weaver, for 
help both in and out of the class room; and to Dr. Daniel 
A. Poling. I am indebted most of all for constant assistance 
and encouragement to any mother. 

Conclusion 

This is, apparently, one of the first attempts to gather to- 
gether in one book, from the point of view of the vocational 

5 



INTRODUCTION 

guidance movement, Avithout the motive of propaganda, the 
occupational opportunities in religious work. The endeavor 
has been to make an accurate and unbiased approach, while 
retaining the full flavor of romance, which never can be 
analyzed out of the great adventure of full-time Christian 

service. 

Frank M. Lowe, Jr. 

New York City. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter Page 

1. ''Vocational Guidance" for Religious Vocations . . 11 

PART I. MINISTER 

2. The Pastor 27 

3. The Home Missionary 47 

4. Two Specialists 56 

5. The ''Man Higher Up" 66 

PART II. FOREIGN MISSIONARY 

6. General Ordained Missionary 81 

7. Medical Missionary and Nurse 103 

8. Educational Missionary 112 

9. Other Missionary Specialists 121 

PART III. THE DEACONESS AND LAY WORKER 

10. The Association Secretary 139 

11. The Field-Secretary 157 

12. The Deaconess 166 

13. The Teacher and Singer 173 

14. The Social-Religious Worker 185 

CONCLUSION 

15. The Counsellor 209 

Appendixes (1) Addresses of Foreign-Mission Boards .219 

(2) Statistics 222 

(3) Suggestions to Study- Class Leaders ..223 

(4) Cases of Life-Work Recruits 225 

7 



INTRODUCTORY 

"Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ 
for strength^ I promise Him that I will 
strive from this day forth so to shape 
the plans of my life that I may give 
myself to full-time Christian service.' ' 



RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

CHAPTER I 

''VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE" FOR RELIGIOUS 

VOCATIONS 

I. The Vocational Guidance Movement 

Of the million earlj^-teen-age boys and girls who 
annually set out on industrial careers in the United 
States, it is safe to say that more than half find em- 
ployment by taking to the street and hunting jobs; 
that more than four out of five accept blind-allej^ posi- 
tions, affording little advancement, where three to 
seven out of ten are quickly dissatisfied ; and that, in 
most cases, the choice of work being left to chance and 
accident, ''the job chooses the vocation."^ 

If these new juvenile job-hunters for one year should 
set out upon their vocational journey from the Penn- 
sylvania Station, New York City, they would form a 
continuous stream of outgoing traffic which it would 
take the normal facilities of this world-terminal three 
weeks, moving day and night, to handle.' Most of these 
youthful travellers would arrive at the station unpre- 
pared for the trip, without any idea of their destina- 
tion, and would step up to the window, blindfolded, to 
grab a ticket for any point which Agent Luck might 



^Brewer, John M., "Vocational Guidance Moveraent," Macmillan, 
N. Y., 1919. 

^Based upon daily average, 1920, estimated by David N. Bell, P. 
T. M. 

11 



12 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

happen to hand out. Under such circumstances, who 
could doubt that many would eventually reach unsuit- 
able destinations, to be dissatisfied, ineffective workers, 
or to become vocational hoboes? 

History. This indicates slightly, and in one feature 
only, something of the problem which faces the Amer- 
ican schools and which has created, as one factor in 
its solution, the vocational guidance movement. Under 
the early leadership of Frank Parsons, and later of 
Meyer Bloomfield, the Boston Vocation Bureau, estab- 
lished in 1908, proved the successful missionary for a 
cause, already appearing in some quarters, and for 
which the whole nation was more or less ready. To- 
day a dozen progressive cities maintain vocation 
bureaus, a score of colleges and universities offer suit- 
able courses, and hundreds of high schools carry out 
vocational guidance programmes. 

Purpose. Briefly stated, vocational guidance aims to 
serve the individual and society by helping young peo- 
ple help themselves to choose wisely, to prepare ade- 
quately for, to launch successfully into, and to advance 
consistently through progressive readjustments, into 
satisfying vocational life. This it proposes to bring 
about by cultivating in the child as early as possible 
a vocational attitude. Just as other teachers promote 
the growth of a habit of scientific method, or a taste 
for poetry, or an ear for music, the guidance expert 
endeavors to train in the pupil an appreciative eye for 
work and workers. A growing boy is on his way to 
work, and it will save time and waste later if he can 
make up his mind as he goes what he wants to do when 
he gets there. 



''VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE" 13 

Method. In detail, the vocational guidance pro- 
gramme includes six or seven steps, ranging from pre- 
vocational, "trj^out" courses in the grades and the 
junior high school to employment supervision after the 
worker is placed. In a general way the earlier meas- 
ures, those functioning in the school, may be divided 
into the formational and the diagnostic. In the case 
of the latter type, which have to do with examining 
a person and pronouncing vocational sentence upon 
him, the counsellor is on very thin ice. Although psy- 
chological tests are the rage, the fact remains that in 
selecting positions for persons, psychology has attained 
scant scientific progress.' Since diagnosis by charac- 
ter-analysis is almost as much discredited, it is the 
informational feature which vocational guidance em- 
phasizes, a major method being the "class in occupa- 
tions," now increasingly offered by schools through- 
out the country. 

While it is only one of several activities the class 
in occupations may be taken to represent the spirit of 
the movement as a whole. The members of such a 
class, in addition to interviewing workers, listening to 
addresses by workers, observing in industrial plants, 
reading about vocations, and studying the right steps 
in the vocational progress of the individual, take up 
systematically a survey of vocations, asking about 
each such questions as these suggested by Dr. Brewer^ : 

1. AVhat service to society is rendered by those 
in the occupation? 

2. What things are actually done by a person 



^Ayres, L. P., "Psychological Tests in Vocational Guidance," 
Journ. Educ. Psy., April, 1913. 

^Brewer, John M., "Material for the Class in Occupations," Bu- 
reau of Vocational Guidance, Harvard University, 1920. 



14 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

in this calliiio? (a) Make a list of them, (b) 
Outline a typical day's work. 

3. What are the main advantages of the occu- 
pation .? (a) Service to humanity? (b) Chance to 
learn? (c) Demand for workers? (d) Steady 
work? (e) Growing importance? (f) Interesting 
work? (g) Promotions? (h) Friends, associates"? 
(i) Hours? (j) Vacations? (k) Good living? (1) 
Healthy work? (m) Ethical conditions? (n) 
Other points? 

4. What are its disadvanta,ges and problems? 

5. What preparation is necessary or desirable ? 

6. What are other requirements for success? 

7. What income is to be expected, at first 
later? 

8. What effect of occupation on social, civic, 
physical, recreational, and moral life of worker? 
The purpose of this class, however, is not so much to 

give specific vocational information as to develop a 
vocational consciousness and a habit for job analysis. 
Especial emphasis is placed upon the desirability of a 
broad educational background as well as of thorough 
vocational preparation, the conviction being that^a 
teen-age child is never so Avell '' placed" as when placed 
in school. With such an alert attitude awakened and 
trained early in life, a normal boy is more certain to 
find himself, and thus in time to prepare better to make 
his life count most. This is the goal of the vocational 
guidance movement, for it is based squarely upon the 
proposition that the whole world works and that to 
make better workmen is to make a better world. 



''VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE" 15 

II. Need for Guidance in Religious Vocations. 

It is the application in the religious field of the spirit 
and method of vocational guidance which this book 
undertakes. By putting Dr. Brewer's questions to the 
religious callings, it is hoped to add to the enlarging 
number of life-career text-books one suitable for a 
"class in religious occupations." This undertaking is 
new. Although many books, setting forth the pro- 
gramme needs, and unfinished task of Christianity in 
every field of religious service are increasingly avail- 
able, these describe only indirectly the types and char- 
acteristics of the work from the worker's point of 
view. In every case the motive has been missionary 
propaganda rather than a contribution to the litera- 
ture of vocational guidance. Religious activities in 
the present case are to be considered not from the 
point of view of function but of vocation, not of work 
but of worker, not of need but of opportunity. In 
making such an approach, one of several questions 
which suggest themselves is, "What are religious 
vocations?" 

Religious Vocations Defined. "Go start a savings 
bank," was the answer of Professor T. N. Carver of 
Harvard to a religious worker who asked in what call- 
ing he could best serve society. This reply illustrates 
the modern conception of the sacredness of all produc- 
tive labor, of the tendency to consider that the best 
way to serve God is by serving mankind, that the best 
way to serve mankind ib' by producing goods, that 
therefore every producer is potentially a Christian 
workman, and, accordingly, that every position filled 
by a Christian is a Christian vocation. Undoubtedly, 



16 KELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

all lef>'itimate calling's may be filled to the giory of 
God. Nevertheless, certain types of work are religious 
per se ; that is, they are not only subjectively Christian 
because of the Christian motive behind them, but they 
are objectively Christian, furthering directly through 
organized church and interchurch activities the democ- 
racy of God. It is with these clear-cut, full-time, sal- 
aried religious vocations that this study deals.' 

With regard to such callings, do Christian young 
people need information and guidance? How many 
of the nearly three-quarter million^ secondary Sunday- 
school pupils in the United States precede their en- 
trance into vocational life w4th any systematic consid- 
eration of the occupational opportunities in religious 
work? Even of those who choose a religious career, 
how many do so after a careful study of its programme 
and routine, its difficulties as well as its satisfactions, 
and its requirement as to personality and preparation? 
To these questions no statistical answers are forth- 
coming, but it may be affirmed in general that the lack, 
especially of high-grade workers, the unpopularity of 
religious careers among young people, and the exces- 
sive ''mortality" among those who make decisions, 
indicate an emphatic need to replace, or at least to 
supplement, the present all-too-prevalent, spasmodic, 
emotional appeal with a systematic, sober surve}^ of 
the field of religious vocations. 

Life-Work Recruit Movement. Nothing emphasizes 
more the urgency for wise guidance Avithin the church 



^For definition of "vocation" see Snedden, D., "Vocational Educa- 
tion," Macmillan, N. Y., 1920, p. 398. 

^Report of Fourteenth International Sunday-School Convention, 
Chicago, 1914, gave 641,141 pupils in the secondary Division, in or- 
ganized classes alone. 



"VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE" 17 

than the present interest in recruiting religious work- 
ers, which, at least up to the point of securing decisions, 
is strongly stressed by the young people's societies. In 
1913 the United Society of Christian Endeavor, adopt- 
ing a plan already tried by the Ohio Christian En- 
deavor Union,' organized the Christian Endeavor Life- 
Work Recruit Movement, planning to enroll all 
Endeavorers who would pledge themselves to try to 
shape their life-plans to enter full-time salaried Chris- 
tian service. Since that time Christian Endeavor con- 
ventions, county, district, State, and international, 
have utilized the "decision service" to such good ad- 
vantage tliat thousands have enrolled. 

A similar movement is the Life-Service League of 
the Baptist Young People's Union, its object being to 
present definitely and forcefully to Baptist young peo- 
ple "the call of God for Kingdom service in this hour 
of the world's need." In providing for the recruit's 
signature, regarded not as a pledge but rather as a 
declaration of purpose only, this organization submits 
three diff^erent cards, which list in all thirty-eight 
types of service.' 

The Life-Work Department of the Epworth League 
mobilizes its force largely through summer institutes. 
At these, of which many are held annually throughout 
the United States, the full one-day programme provides 
a forty-minute life-workers' class, in which a begin- 
ning is made in giving vocational information. Also 
at local evening institutes more or less emphasis is 
placed upon a summons-to-service address and the 
signing of decision cards. These cards are of two 



^Anderson, R. P., "Christian Endeavor History Told in Brief," 
United Society of Christian Endeavor, Boston, p. 49.' 

^Information kindly furnished by James A. White, General Secre- 
tary, Chicago. 



18 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

kinds, the indefinite *'I will find myself," and the def- 
inite, ''I have found myself" decision. Of the two 
types, the central office now has record of more than 
8,000/ No one can doubt that this wide activity in 
enlistment on the part of the young people's movement 
would be more far-reaching and more permanent if it 
could build upon the firm foundation of a comprehen- 
sive, popular class in religious vocations. ♦ 

Student Volunteer Movement. To have helped place 
upward of nine thousand volunteers in the foreign 
field is the achievement of this organization, which, 
beginning in 1886 at Mt. Hermon, Mass., with a hand- 
ful of students whom Dwight L. Moody called in con- 
ference, has grown until to-day its paid staff includes, 
in addition to fifteen or twenty headquarters and trav- 
elling secretaries, a clerical force alone of twenty. At 
its convention in Des Moines in 1920, 5,428 of the 6,890 
delegates were college students. In addition to the 
direct influence of the conventions, the movement has 
564 volunteer bands in the colleges and universities of 
the country; while its publications alone number no 
less than twenty-eight books, seventy-five pamphlets, 
and a quarterly magazine. This enterprise, this cen- 
tral labor bureau for the missionary harvest field, 
which so splendidly faces the college youth of America, 
and increasingly of the world, with the challenge of 
Christian service, has a singular opportunity and neces- 
sity to promote, even more than it has religious voca- 
tional guidance. 

Y. M. C. A. Programme. The Boys' Work Division 
of the International committee has adopted a com- 



'Information kindly furnished by W. E. J. Gratz, Secretary of tlie 
Department of Institutes and Life Work, Chicago. 



"VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE" 19 

prehensive, five-j^ear policy, 1920-1925, for enlisting 
boys in Christian callings. Considering- its legitimate 
field, the more than 600,000 high-school boys in the 
United States, it plans to reach large numbers of these 
young men through find-yourself campaigns. State and 
county older boys' conferences, and older boys' life- 
work conferences, as well as through the Hi-Y activ- 
ities. Personal interviews and follow-up are to receive 
special emphasis, and the whole campaign fits into the 
programme of vocational guidance which the associa- 
tion has already undertaken. Through its far-reaching, 
effective organization, the Y. M. C. A. has unusual 
opportunity for carrying out a programme which does 
not contemplate over-emphasizing but simply duly-em- 
phasizing the call for service in order "to discover 
those whose talents and qualifications fit them partic- 
ularly for lives of Christian leadership." The revised 
list now contains three hundred names. 

The Sunday-School Attitude. Although some de- 
nominational departments of religious education, nota- 
bly that of the Disciples of Christ, report great interest 
in recruiting, for the most part, an emphasis upon life- 
decisions has not gained great headway in the church 
school. Probably as a protest against methods which 
sometimes have appeared like unwarranted exploita- 
tion of adolescent nature, the tendency has been rather 
the other way. The last report of the young people's 
division to the executive committee of the International 
Sunday-School Association contains in its entire review 
of activities for the year only one reference to the 
presentation of Christian life-work, and that only as 
a possible feature of a future programme for the college 
Sunday-school conference, reaching a small and highly 



20 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

selected group. However, leaders in religious educa- 
tion, especially those agreeing with Dr. CoeV concep- 
tion of the socialized curriculum, should welcome an 
application of vocational-guidance methods within the 
church. The adequate manning of the world-wide 
Christian organization awaits the time when the young 
people of the Sunday-schools in America shall study 
and appreciate the religious vocations. 

Denominational Enlistment Activities. Denomina- 
tional colleges and boards of education and special 
commissions all witness by their concern to the im- 
portance of and need for a comprehensive programme. 
The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church has ordered a commission on life-service. The 
General Board of Education of the Presbyterian 
Church in the U. S. A., through its student department, 
ha,s taken an advance step by inaugurating, in addi- 
tion to an annual vocational-day programme, a plan 
for life-work conferences with boys, called "a recruit- 
ing measure for the ministry and missions." Boys of 
high-school age, of promise and character, are gath- 
ered by the church session for a one-evening supper- 
conference. The presence of elders and pastors pleases 
the boys. Addresses bring home the need for Christian 
workers, but no expressions or pledges are sought. 
Through such conferences nearly five thousand boys 
have already been reached. 

III. Some Qualifying Considerations 

One must be cautious, however, in attempting to 
interpret a secular movement which has developed to 



^Coe, G. A., ''Social Theory of Religious Education.'' Scribners. 
N. Y., 1917. For suggestion to study occupations in Sunday-school 
curriculum, see p. 105. 



^'VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE'^ 21 

deal largely with industrial and commercial callings. 
From the outset, a clear recognition of certain limita- 
tions and modifications must be kept in mind. For the 
purposes of this survey, religious workers differ from 
secular workers in at least four particulars. 

1. Men in religious vocations never work primarily 
for money. They w^ork for money, but not for money 
primarily. This is not saying that all other men do. 
Undoubtedly many men in many callings work from a 
higher motive than mere financial gain. Where mixed 
motives are so universally prevalent, money alone is 
not adequate to account for any man's lahor. How- 
ever, unless the man engaged in full-time. Christian, 
salaried service always places the chief emphasis upon 
full-time Christian rather than upon salaried, he ulti- 
mately^ fails. Approximately, it may be said, therefore, 
that, while other men work to earn a living, he works 
to spend a life ; and this motive in the case of religious 
workers is indispensable. Every reference in the fol- 
lowing pages to salary and to financial advancement 
must be read with this constantly in mind. 

2. In religious vocations work never stops with the 
whistle. Other men shut the desk, lock the shop, regis- 
ter out, or knock off for the day; but the man in the 
religious calling does not check out and go home to 
forget his task. In a certain sense, he follows his call- 
ing twenty-four hours every day in the year. In his 
case it is not so much how many miles he travels, how 
many letters he writes, how many sermons he preaches, 
how many calls he makes, or' how many conferences he 
participates in ; in short, it is not how many hours he 
works or what he does, but what he is that counts most. 
As Mr. Wilson puts it in speaking of the ministry : 



22 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

"Tlie only profession which consists in being- some- 
thing is the ministry of our Lord and Saviour, and it 
does not consist of anything else.'" To talk about 
the conditions of employment or the hours of labor is 
somewhat beside the point here, because the religious 
worker, minister, missionary, or layman, can have no 
eight-hour day. 

3. Eeligious vocations are to a degree one vocation. 
Even yet they are in a fluid state, blending, and mix- 
ing. While this condition prevails less than formerly, 
it is still much easier to discuss Christian service in 
terms of function as preaching, teaching, healing, and 
socializing. The printer stays printer, the plumber 
and plasterer, though side by side, are alwaj^s dis- 
tinguishable ; and a man does not ordinarily pass with 
facility from bricklayer to architect or from chauffeur 
to civil engineer. With regard to the religious worker, 
on the other hand, it is easily conceivable that a man, 
beginning his career as a pastor's assistant and ending 
it, for example, as a national interdenominational exec- 
utive, might fill in the course of events any five or six 
of a dozen vocational positions, withal not losing a 
moment's time or retracing a single step or in any way 
breaking the ccntinuity of a useful and successful 
career. The attempt, therefore, to classify religious 
vocations is an approximation only, amounting almost 
to an effort to separate the inseparable. 

4. The qualifications for religious workers reduce 
largely to one qualification. To succeed in the religious 
callings the only absolutely indispensable quality is 
love. Traits of personality are important ; it is desirable 



^Wilson, Woodrow, "Minister and the Community," in "Claims 
and Opportunities of the Christian Ministry," Mott, J. R., Editor, In- 
ternational Commission, Y. M. C. A., 1911, p. 119. 



''VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE" 23 

and valuable within limits to analj^ze and emphasize 
and point out those characteristics which go best with 
this or that career ; but after invoicing the whole stock 
of human virtues' one finds one's self working in a 
circle at the centre of which is love. With love any 
worker, in any field of religious service, may hope to 
be wonderfully used of God. Even in the area of the 
industrial and commercial pursuits, vocational guid- 
ance hesitates to influence vocational choice by pigeon- 
holing types of personality. How much more must 
caution be shown in the case of those callings which 
have in their vocabularly such terms as these: "born 
again," "greater love * * *," "power of God," 
and "* * * Christ who strengthened me." The 
card of admission to the religious w^orkers' guild bears 
one condition only : the passion to serve. 

All these limitations and reservations notwithstand- 
ing, vocational guidance offers in this field a valuable 
contribution. Misfits and failures do occur in the min- 
istry, in missions, and in the lay work of the church. 
They will increasingly occur without more adequate 
vocational information, because the time of specializa- 
tion and division of labor has reached Christian organ- 
izations. Both in the home-field and overseas, posi- 
tions becoming increasingly differentiated and selec- 
tive, demand more and more a careful sorting of 
candidate material. In the face of the world's oppor- 
tunity for service and the appeal of the church for fit 
workers. Christian young people must be not only in- 
spired for service : they must be informed about service 
as well. Entering religious work, while not less a 



^Coe, G. A., "Virtue and the Virtues," Journal of Religious Educa- 
tion, January, 1912, pp. 485-92. 



24 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

matter of lieart, must become more a matter of head, of 
sober deliberation and discriminating choice. 

Of this age of specialization the tugboat, that indus- 
trious bit of marine energy so much in evidence in 
New York harbor, may be taken as a symbol. Flat- 
boats and barges carry the freight; the tug specializes 
in power. That is all it carries. When in use it is a 
fine economizer in the business of sea transportation. 
Taken alone, it becomes exceedingly useless and waste- 
ful. To count for anything, a tug must be alongside 
a suitable load, pulling or pushing. This text-book 
attempts to help Christian young people, already 
throbbing with His power, to come alongside the right 
load, where their own aptitudes will find adequate play, 
^'working with the minimum of friction and the maxi- 
mum of satisfaction.'" 



'Dewev, John. "Democracy and Education," Macmillan and Co. 
N. Y., 1917, p. 3G0. 



PART I 
MINISTER 

' ' Eeligion has been and is the greatest 
factor in society because it is the bulwark 
of the will to carry on. ' ' 

GiDDINGS. 



25 



' * A young man of intellectual power 
may be sure of his fitness for the min- 
istry if his whole heart kindles into 
flame as he reads and ponders these 
words: 'Blessed are they that hunger 
and thirst after righteousness: for they 
shall be filled. ' ' ' 

G. A. Gordon. 



26 



CHAPTER II 
THE PASTOR 

An American preacher^ was talking one day in Paris 
with Mr. David Lloyd George. He was remarking that 
had he followed his first intention as a lad in Scotland 
of entering upon a political career, he might then be 
among the statesmen gathered at the peace table. For a 
moment the British premier was pensive, and then 
soberly replied: "I believe that you have chosen the 
better part." 

Such tributes to the ministr}/ are not uncommon from 
men of large affairs. In general the disparagement of 
the pulpit is the small business of petty minds, char- 
acteristic of at least three classes of persons : the infidel, 
the ignoble, and the ignorant. Within the third of these 
groups must be included, unfortunately, a large number 
of worthy young people whose unripe judgments, and 
untamed, over-eager spirit of youth, lead them to accept 
too readily the estimate of the street, the shop, and the 
stage that the pulpit is not the place for the red-blooded 
twentieth-century young man. 

The Christian who holds such a view^ simply lacks 
information. He is unacquainted with the modern 
minister, his world message, and his new programme in 
the changing order of society. The modern clergyman is 
a real man, of strong personality, wide influence, and 



^He is too modest to allow the use of his name. 

27 



28 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

great power. He is not at all like the conventional 
parson of the stage, described by Dr. Cadman/ "a char- 
acter which is in point of manliness and brains the 
shadow of a shade, glimmering on the verge of downright 
idiocy." Whatever may be the case as to the present 
place of the clerg}^ as a class, it is undoubtedly true that 
the successful, individual clergyman has never stood 
higher in the affections of his people, in popular respect, 
and in public leadership. 

Nearly two thousand years have passed since Jesus 
by the sea of Galilee prepared the wa}^ for the mustard- 
seed church. To-day in the United States alone, that 
portion of the pastors representing Him who bear the 
name evangelical Protestant have a parish of twentj'-five 
million and more. During these centuries the church 
and society have developed together. In the lives of 
individuals, in homes, in schools, in hospitals, in stand- 
ards, in morals, in marriage vow^s, in funeral rites, in 
laws, as well as in ideals the brand of Christ is upon the 
land. One can about as well imagine one's self in Mars 
as in America without the church. And yet, how^ever 
important and useful it has proved in the past, it may 
serve infinitely more in the present. 

This is true because civilization is passing from an 
industrial into a social age. Now the whole Avorld is 
a melting-pot of ideas. Self-consciousness, both for 
individuals and for groups, is more acute than ever 
before ; and it is exactly in this field of exalted person- 
ality and of newly-valued human relationships that the 
church functions, and into which the modern clergyman, 
no longer held back by an imaginary barrier between the 
sacred and secular, is prepared whole-heartedly to enter. 



^Cadman, S. Parkes, ''Ambassadors of God." Macmillan, N. Y., 
1920, p. 137. 



THE PASTOR 29 

The minister to-day has a message for all classes, 
conditions, races, and nations of men. He alone of all 
workers occnpies a position where he can help both 
sides to ever}' controversy. His God is the logical 
mediator between capital and labor, between foreign- 
born and native, between rich and poor, black and 
white, Occident and Orient; and, since warriors, poli- 
ticians, and statesmen fail to disentangle themselves 
from national greed, prejudice, and hatred, it is the 
minister, finally, who has the privilege of separating 
himself long enough and far enough from a national 
god, to lead out humanity under the great God universal 
into the plains of peace. 

The modern minister is the man at the centre of life. 
Other men specialize in this thing or that, one in engi- 
neering, another in banking, another in medicine, and 
another in law. All of these are worthy callings, but all 
of them to a greater or less extent demand the best 
hours of each day and the best years of each life for the 
restricted activities of a single compartment of activity. 
While the lawyer is spending his days delving into 
annual reports, a slave to technicality and precedent, 
the minister is majoring in men, in motives, and in the 
eternal values, touching lives at every point. Rightly 
conceived, religion is not a separate phase of human en- 
deavor. It embraces the whole of it. To attempt to 
include religion in a definition is like dipping water 
with a sieve. To define it takes a volume, and then that 
volume needs revision every year. Lyman Abbott says 
religion is God living in the souls of men. The minister, 
then-, is the one who, by making God live through the 
lives of men, furnishes that morale which is the hope and 
the power of progress. 



30 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Definition and Types of Work. In the present study 
the term minister is used to include those who are duly 
authorized to administer the sacraments and to perform 
all the usual functions of the ministry, of leadership 
in religious services, or in church life. Many of these 
are not in actual service as pastors, for ministers are 
found in every religious vocation. Leaving several of 
those in which they predominate to be considered in 
the remainder of this part, the present chapter con- 
siders the work of the minister as pastor only. The 
types of pastorate are many. They vary from the Fifth 
Avenue parish to the parish of the Tennessee cir- 
cuit-rider, while in between are all kinds of down-town, 
neighborhood, village, and open-country parishes, as 
well as the parishes among student, immigrant, and 
industrial communities. Keeping this fact of great 
diversity in mind, there are, generally speaking, at 
least two main types of pastorate, (1) the urban, and 
(2) the rural. Before considering the distinctive feat- 
ures of these, however, the programme, difficulties, com- 
pensations, and desirable qualities for the pastor in 
general will be discussed. 

Programme. The underlying purpose of the Chris- 
tian pastor is to promote the Kindom of God; and his 
parish is his whole community. In the pulpit, in the 
study, in the neighborhood, and upon the platform, this 
is his life work. In the pulpit he preaches the gospel 
unto the saving of souls. That this is the first item in 
his varied programme, all pastors apparently agree. 
In his sermon he embodies elements of the prophet, the 
priest, and the teacher of sound principles of health, 
morals, business, politics, and social relations. Keeping 
himself free from all embarrassing entanglements, he 



THE PASTOR 31 

stirs the consciences of his laymen to make the whole 
world better in all its relationships. 

But his programme is one of organization as well as 
of exhortation. His study becomes the businesslike 
headquarters of an administrator who manages a great, 
religious, ethical, and educational organization. Here 
he plans adequate measures of religious education, here 
he enlists and encourages leadership for the varied 
activities of his church. It is to him here that youth 
come for counsel, and it is from here that he goes into 
the homes and the hospitals, or to stand by the fresh 
grave to give comfort to the sorrowing. 

In the neighborhood he stands for co-operation, and 
for the promotion of all community activities, lectures, 
clubs, and betterment enterprises. He not only takes 
hold and helps with the plans which others have sug- 
gested, but he is always seeking to provide channels for 
the expression of group-life beyond the limits of his 
own church membership, for the pastor who has no eye 
or eagerness for, or influence upon the life outside his 
own pews belongs to the past. 

Nor does the modern clergyman neglect the opportun- 
ities of the platform. He attends conventions and con- 
ferences, both denominational and interdenominational, 
his policy being to advance the cause of Christian union 
and to contribute to the growth of every worthy agency 
of the church at home and abroad. This does not mean 
sectarianism. Forty-eight clergymen, representing the 
seven largest denominations^ were asked to rank in 
importance a list of seven items, containing among 
others "To promote denominational programmes." Not 
one placed it first; fourteen scratched it out entirely; 
and the combined score of the forty-eight questionnaires 
ranked it at the bottom of the list. There is indeed no 



32 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

place for narrowness or pettiness in the broad, con- 
structive programme of the modern preacher. 

Difficulties. Such a man is the first to feel the disad- 
vantage, which exists in most over-churched areas, of 
duplicating the work of other churches in the com- 
munity and in the slowing down effect of denominational 
divisions upon all social undertakings. Sectarianism is 
felt to be a \ery real obstacle by many pastors. Even 
more than the denominational, however, is felt the keen 
competition from modern complex life. Even the 
country is not free from this modern absorption in 
money getting and pleasure seeking. In both city and 
country evil is organized under many names to attract 
and to control. Commercialized amusements set a pace 
for sensationalism and speed which the church would 
not meet if it could. To the pastor comes a great burden 
of sorrow-bearing. Sadness and woe he cannot escape, 
for people in trouble are those whom he first seeks out. 
In solemn hours at the hospital, in the tragic moment 
by the death bed, at the open grave, a surprisingly large 
share of his life is spent; aad the continual drain upon 
his sympathies and his spirits, if he be true shepherd, is 
simply appalling. 

''Lack of response in service and substance from the 
church membership," is a disappointment which is 
inevitable for the pastor with a great vision. Whenever 
a leader is wholly satisfied with those who follow him, 
it is, perhaps, a sign that he has ceased to lead. This 
accounts for the constant complaint of the lack of vision 
on the part of the people; of the indifference of people 
to the message of the church; of the lack of a sense of 
responsibility; of the slowness of people to grasp the 
new idea of the church as the spiritual dynamic of the 



THE PASTOR 33 

communit}^ ; of being able to secure only the fringe 
of the time of the volunteer workers upon whom one 
must rely. This continual gap between vision and 
accomplishment is always a trial to the prophet. He 
must watch and pray lest the keen edge of his own zeal 
be gradually worn down. It is not without effort that he 
maintains at high level his own personal religious life 
and escapes from the blight of professionalism. Since 
lie works b}^ faith rather than by sight he must guard 
well the eye of faith, that it grow not dim or blurred. 

Yet another disadvantage to the work of the pastor 
is the lack of business efficiency in the church. Of all 
the live, working institutions in the world, the church 
is doubtless the last to be adequately systematized. 
There are reasons for this which are not hard to find. 
Spiritual goods are not to be sorted out and arranged 
in regular rows on shelves, to be invoiced and tagged, 
and sold, wrapped, and delivered like hardware OATr the 
counter. And yet, even so, the pastor faces a multiplic- 
ity of duties, exactions on time and strength, w^hich, 
without organization, lead to waste of time and exhaus- 
tion of energy in attention to little things. Without 
some method, which is usually lacking, for placing first 
things first, a large task and a splendid opportunity 
are dissipated through being spread out over too wide a 
surface. This is to-day one of the most real problems 
of the minister. Equally applicable to many pastors, 
America over, is this remark of the private secretary 
of a busy pastor : ' ' There isn 't such a thing in his life 
as a disengaged moment. ' ' 

Satisfactions. "Were it possible for the lips of all 
those who love and revere you as a brother in Christ 
to sound in your ears the sentiments of their hearts the 



34 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

music of their chorus at this glad hour would be like 
the noise of many waters." These words which voiced 
upon one occasion the tribute of a grateful church illus- 
trates one of the pastor's compensations. He is the 
recipient of gratitude abounding. But this is not his 
chief reward. 

The chief joy of the Christian minister is leading souls 
to salvation. This means something more than simply 
leading them to an open confession of Christ. It means 
redeeming and developing character. It means saving 
and training for the service of society strong religious 
and ethical personalities. To the pastor as to none 
other comes the rare privilege of holding up the stand- 
ards of Jesus Christ and the possibility of shaping life 
programmes. 

The compensation of the prophet ^s vision and message 
is his. To influence and guide toward righteous ends 
every civic interest is his increasing privilege. His 
power comes not through direct participation, but rather 
through the indirect permeating presence of a fine spirit, 
acting as a tonic in the lives of men. In the words of 
Dr. Finis Idleman, ^'it is the church only which sends 
out those fresh currents which keep business and society 
clean, and sweetens the springs of life. ' ' 

Touching life at the top is a third compensation. 
Through the consciousness of direct obedience to God in 
life and in daily purpose the minister lives in the spirit 
of the upper room, and there he gathers about himself 
human friendships of rare inspiration. He enjoj^s asso- 
ciation with men and women who are helpful and 
stimulating, who give and call forth the best. He has a 
welcome always to the finest Christian home-life. On 
the other hand, while touching life at the top, he also has 
the chance to touch it at the very bottom; literally to 



THE PASTOR 35 

pull men up out of despair and sin ; and his life becomes 
rich in helpfulness. Throuo'h his manifold ministra- 
tions to men and his identification of himself with his 
timeless messag'e, there gradually comes to him the 
''sense of a kind of earth-immortality throujih the 
linking of an individual life with an undying" institu- 
tion, the church,'' for he works with that which per- 
ishes not. "God buries his workers but carries on his 
work." 

The ministry' offers another advantage in the oppor- 
tunity^ for self-cultivation. A great task develops per- 
sonality. Human contacts enrich one's life. A full day 
with a varied programme calls forth personal growth. 
One who is inspired by a vision of service for God has 
the highest incentive for making himself as broad and 
deep a channel as possible. Added to this the pastor- 
ate offers a man the greatest personal freedom. He does 
not know what a time clock is. He regulates his own 
affairs. To him every hour of stud}^ every new sermon, 
every additional call in the home may be a stepping- 
stone to a larger, more effective self. Phillips Brooks 
said: "The Christian ministry, is the largest field for 
the growth of a human soul that the world affords. ' ' 

Desirable Qualities. In this section will be consid- 
ered those natural or acquirable personal qualifications 
deemed desirable for success in the ministry. Educa- 
tional qualifications will be considered in a separate 
section. No attempt will be made here or in similar 
parts of following chapters to separate these traits into 
physical, mental, or spiritual; or to determine which of 
them are innate and which are the result of experience 
or self-cultivation. Such detailed analysis is not war- 
ranted by the purpose in hand, which is merely to sug- 



36 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

gest in a most general wa}^ and that alwaj^s with the 
caution that exceptions and modifications are to be 
allowed for, the kind of character a person ought to 
have or to cultivate for the largest usefulness in each 
calling. 

The successful pastor is first of all himself a Chris- 
tian. That means he is a man who realizes his own 
sinfulness and reposes all his confidence and hope in his 
Saviour, Jesus Christ. His love for God and men has 
made him gentle, forgiving, and true; and has unfolded 
within him a marvelous sympath}", equipping him with 
insight, with compassion, and tenderness toward all 
sorts and conditions of men, women, and children; and 
has set him on fire with a passion to serve. 

To this experience all other qualities are secondary, 
but they are, nevertlieless, important. The pastor is an 
unconquerable idealist. Henry Clay never could have 
made a great minister, for he was a great compromiser. 
The true prophet of God is kind, and patient, and long- 
suffering, and is able to catch the other man's point 
of view, but he does not compromise with sin. He 
keeps one eye on the unseeable and forges ahead in 
faith. Mr. Beecher told the Yale theological students 
that in his own ministry the greatest source of help 
and power had been a temperament ^'that enabled him 
to see the unseeable and know the unknowable. ' " 

And after faith the minister's greatest prerequisite 
is hope. "We are saved by hope." There is little 
enough room for pessimism anywhere, but in the pulpit 
it is impossible. The preacher must have great con- 
fidence in God and in men. He must know that things 
will come out right. He possesses indefatigable hope, 



^Abbott, Lvman, "Henry Ward Beecher," Houghton, Mifflin, N. Y., 
1903, p. 128. 



THE PASTOR 37 

tirelessness of spirit, fairl}' radiating joy and the expec- 
tation of the good. The pastor is a man transformed by 
a definite Christian experience, consumed with a passion 
to serve, well armored in faith, preaching a gospel of 
hope; and he is something more. Beecher said he must 
be a man of imagination, emotion, enthusiasm, and 
conviction. And still that is not enough. 

The man who succeeds in the pastorate is more than 
a walking catalogue of virtues. He is a personality. 
Just w^hat makes up and completes that totality it is 
impossible to say. ''He must possess winsomeness and 
charm of personality, striking contacts immediately." 
The pastor who said that, himself exemplifies in rare 
measure the charm and force of personality of which he 
is speaking. It pervades his conversation, it is the soul 
of his sermon, it somehow is the unseen thread which 
knits together his thriving congregation, which has 
been built up against pressing odds in the heart of 
Manhattan. Perhaps personality is a matter of growth. 
If so, there are two elements which the pastor can cul- 
tivate to assist in its development. One of these is 
absolute sincerity, "freedom from cant, and even the 
suspicion of professionalism." 

The other factor is love, free and unhindered love 
for service and for souls. A pastor was asked to criticize 
and to add to a list of desirable qualities for the minister. 
A vacant space was left for his suggestions. After 
checking the list, he added in the blank as the first 
requirement for a successful pastor three words : ' ' Love, 
love, love. ' ' 

I. City Pastor 

Routine. All that has so far been said applies to the 
ministry in general and to the pastor in particular. 



38 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

in almost any field in which he serves. It is impossible 
to go further in detail in describing his work and his 
preparation without selecting a definite type of pastor- 
ate as an example. In this case, consider a church with 
a membership of about eight hundred, in a city of 
between one hundred and two hundred thousand popula- 
tion, located in the Central West. It must be borne in 
mind, that even after confining the study in this 
manner, there is still great variation. What will be 
the actual schedule of work for such a pastor? It may 
be assumed that he will prepare eight sermons a month. 
The preparation of each of these sermons is a large 
undertaking. It represents first a purpose. That is 
always the most important thing about a sermon. It 
therefore is one unit in a definitely thought-out and care- 
fully planned policy or campaign or larger purpose on 
the part of the minister. Into the sermon he puts his 
best of scholarship, of newness of thought, and of fresh- 
ness of illustrative material. After a preacher has stood 
before the same congregation four Sundays a month for 
ten months a year for ten or twelve years, sermon- 
making requires real spade work in deep soil and not 
simply raking and scratching over the surface of old 
accumulations. 

Just to prepare those eight sermons a month is 
enough to keep one man fairl}^ busy, but in addition to 
this work of study, Avhich probably represents at least 
an average of four hours a day, five days a week, the 
busy pastor manages to attend about ten special meet- 
ings of one kind or another during the month, and to 
prepare and deliver four extra addresses. This is not to 
mention eight or ten committee meetings which he also 
attends. Then there are the calls, of which he averages 
fifty a month. He has usually about five weddings 



THE PASTOR 39 

during the month, and there is never a week passes 
without the gloom of a funeral. Other interruptions 
are occurring constantly. Perhaps he teaches a class, 
maybe he has personal conferences which take 
at least an hour each day, besides correspondence 
and office and administrative work amounting to 
an hour or two additional. One can readily concur 
with the sentiment expressed by Dr. Charles E. Jef- 
ferson, when in the course of that delightful ''Pastor's 
Annual Report,'" he said, "You see, I am an institu- 
tion on my own hook." 

Preparation. The man wiio hopes to succeed in a 
cit}^ pastorate should take every advantage for a thor- 
ough education. The requirements for ordination, which 
vary with different denominations, are not standardized, 
and a stated amount of education is rarely a prerequisite. 
Men have succeeded in the past and will succeed in the 
futiu^e in the pastorate by virtue of sheer native ability, 
common sense, the Holy Spirit, and the capacity to 
make life itself serve them as university. Such men 
are exceptions. 

The approved standard is a four-year college course 
and three-year seminary training, which includes, be- 
sides courses in religious education, psj^chology of re- 
ligion, comparative religions, and other courses, more 
or less elective, the standard studies of theology, exegesis, 
history of the church, systematic theology, or the history 
and study of Christian doctrine, and practical theology, 
which has to do with the science and art of preaching 
and carrying on the various functions of the church. 
There is a growing tendency to emphasize the study of 
psycholog}^ sociology, and economics, especially in con- 

^The 23rd. 



40 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

nection with industrial relations, and to allow the more 
classical studies such as Greek and Ilebi-ew to become 
elective. Undoubtedly wide latitude for individual dif- 
ferences and preferences should be and are increasingly 
allowed. The age at which a man decides to enter the 
ministry affects the question of preparation. Each man 
must decide for himself after seeking due advice from 
the authorities of his ow^n denomination as to the best 
investment of his time in preparing for service; and all 
men must realize that Dr. Cadman voices the conviction 
of this age when he says :^ ^ ' The Christian message must 
be founded not in the loose rubble of emotional appeal 
which ministers especially are tempted to use, but upon 
the solid facts which show one's reverence for the ethics 
of the intellect." 

Statistics.'^ The more than thirty denominations, 
"the constituent bodies" of the Federal Council, report 
no less than 115,000 ministers.'' Just how these are dis- 
tributed among the religious vocations is largely a matter 
of estimate. It is possible only in the most general way, 
applying as a basis the precentages of distribution found 
by the government census of 1916,^ to assume that the 
number of pastors is about sixty-eight per cent of the 
total number, or 70,000. This is intended to include all 
those in exclusively pastoral work, both urban and 
rural, in the United States. 

The pastor's salary is low, but not as ridiculously 
low as popularly assumed. From 1906 to 1916 the 
average salary rose from $668 to $1,078.' Even this 
figure is too low, for average salaries by denominations. 



^Cadman, S. Parkes, "Ambassadoi-s of God," Macmillan, N. Y., 
1920, p. 194. 

=^" Yearbook of the Churches," Revell, N. Y., 1920, p. 238. 

^''Religious Bodies," Bulletin 142, Department of Commerce, 
Washington, 1920. 

*For this and all following sections on statistics, see Appendix 2. 



THE PASTOR 41 

ranging from $1,166 (Baptists), to $1,632 (Episcopal), 
show an average salar}- for eight denominations of 
$1,332. For the t3^pe of pastorate considered in this 
section, npon which a minister enters at about the age 
of twenty-six or later, salaries range from $2,000 in 
earl}" years to an average at full maturity of $5,000. 

The Fifth Avenue Church. A study made by the 
writer of ten cosmopolitan New York City Protestant 
Evangelical churches, including all nine Fifth Avenue 
churches and one Broadway church, and representing 
five denominations, justifies the following approximate 
statements. The average church membership is twelve 
hundred; the average length of pastorate, about twenty 
years; average age of pastor, about fifty-eight; average 
annual salary, $12,000. One church in four provides, 
in addition, a house. These ten churches employ twelve 
''junior" or "associate" pastors. The ages at which 
these have been called average over thirty-eight; 
salaries average $3,500, but five of the twelve receive 
$4,000 or more. 

The Fifth Avenue church is, of course, in many ways 
the exception, and Fifth Avenue salaries are unusual. 
Yet Fifth Avenue pastors probably have as much dif- 
ficulty making both ends meet as do their brother minis- 
ters in western cities with half their incomes. This illus- 
trates splendidly the fact, which must be taken univer- 
sally into account with regard to the salaries of the 
clergy, that a church board ordinarily endeavors to fit 
its pastor's pay to local conditions. Variation is great, 
but the successful minister may increasingly anticipate 
at the hands of his church a decent living."^ 



^Account must also be taken of the various systems of old age 
pensions or ministerial relief. Funds provided differ among denomina- 
tions but practically all of them are increasingly providing for su- 
perannuated clergymen. 



42 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Estimates can only be made as to the opportunities 
in this vocation. Jolm II. Mott' found that between 
181);") and 190,") the number of theok:>gi('al students fell 
off eighteen per cent, although during the same period 
the membership of the churches increased twenty-six 
per cent. He states, "I have learned of no denomination 
in which there is not a demand for more men of ability 
for the ministry in all sections of the country." The 
1920 A'carbook of one large denomination reports 2,200 
vacant churches. The Christian pastorate offers a wide 
and attractive and waiting field for the Christian young 
manhood of America. 

II. Country Pastor 

Programme. The programme of the rural pastor, in 
addition to most that has alread}^ been described, has 
some features of its ow^n. These grow out of the present 
situation in the country. The rural church has rapidly 
declined. For this slump the steady migration cityward, 
the coming of the automobile, and the inadequate, itiner- 
ating preacher are at least partly to blame. Recent in- 
vestigation found that in some places as low^ as twenty- 
five per cent and ten per cent of the resident membership 
of churches are attending services. In Ohio' it was 
found that of all churches in the countr}^ including those 
in villages, sixty-six per cent are Avithout resident 
pastors. Fifty-five hundred out of sixty-six hundred 
and forty-two are without full-time preaching, and 
seven hundred and fifty have none at all. The result of 
such studies is to show that if the church of the country 



^Mott, J. R., "Future Leadership of the Church," Association 
Press, N. Y., 1909, p. 5. 

■•^Gill and Pinchot, "Six Thousand Country Churches," Macmillan, 
N. Y., 1919, pp. 9-11. 



THE PASTOR 43 

is to live it must develop a new programme, the principal 
factor of which must be a resident pastor. 

The measures proposed to meet this situation provide 
first of all for scientific surveys of country areas to 
determine the elements of strength and of weakness, 
the factors Avhich are making for and those Avhich are 
making against wholesome, prosperous community and 
religious life. On the basis of the survey a whole 
communitj^ is designated as a ''central parish," to 
become closely organized through a central church and 
branch meeting houses, or out-stations, the "centre" as 
a whole being served by one pastor, who lives perma- 
nently in the area served. 

The plan, which has been urged by Edwin L. Earp,' 
also includes a method of "federation," whereby in 
communities where there is only scattered representa- 
tion of an}' one denomination, all ma}' unite for economi- 
cal and effective church work. The keynote of the new 
movement is the adoption of new methods by the church, 
of the effort to rally the country people about the church 
through community activity and community-betterment 
plans. The church of to-morrow is to remake the 
country through making its members better farmers and 
citizens as well as better Christians. In the words of Dr. 
Warren H. Wilson, this change is to come about, and 
already is coming about in certain communities, where 
the pastor "shifts his prayers from the Holy Land of 
Syria to the Holy Earth of Maryland. ' ' 

Difficulties. In some respects the draAvbacks to the 
work in the country differ from those in the city. Bad 
roads and poor schools are an item. The lack of trained 



^Earp, Edwin L., "The Rural Church Movement," Methodist Book 
Concern, N. Y., 1914. 



44 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

leaders for any form of cliiiri'li work is more keenly felt ; 
and one who has had the advantages of the city feels 
acutely the isolation from centres of privilege, the lack 
of intellectual companionship, and the narrow social 
life, as well as the handicap of working among tlie 
conservatism and the provincialism which still partially 
prevail in the country. For the country pastor eco- 
nomic stringency is also a vital problem. 

Compensations. On the other hand, the new mission- 
ary to the country shares in the reconstruction of whole 
communities, l^'ing fallow for such undertakings. He 
has the satisfaction of adjusting community life to 
world movements ; and he steps into a position of recog- 
nized community leadership. The present popularity 
of the city cannot blind one to the fact that almost 
half the population of the United States is still in the 
country and that, just as heretofore, to train the youth 
of the country is to train the future leadership of the 
cities. 

Qualities. The successful leader in the new country 
church movement must have a love for the country and 
for country people; a community vision and ambition; 
and a democratic, friendly spirit. He must be a com- 
munity, rather than a sectarian. Christian. 

Preparation. Heretofore the country parisli has been 
merely the vestibule to a city pastorate, the tield-work 
for ministerial students; but the new programme alters 
all this. To become the successful preacher of an agri- 
cultural Christianity, the new- pastor needs agricultural 
training and farming experience more than he needs 
theolog3^ If he must choose betw^een a seminary course 



THE PASTOR 45 

and a ooiirso in a eollog:e of agriculture, inauy leaders 
suggest the latter. Four years in college, and one or 
two in theology and one or two in agriculture or educa- 
tion are desirable, with at least the experience of two 
or three summers doing actual farming work. 

Routine. Types of country parish vary almost as 
widely as those of the city. There are village, county- 
seat, and open-country churches. Consider an open- 
country parish in an English-speaking community of 
the ^Middle West. In the matter of scheduled work, the 
resident rural pastor has not the heavy strain of the 
city pastor. He prepares perhaps only one sermon a 
week for extemporaneous deliverj^ and one talk; once 
in two weeks he may be called upon for an address; 
every three or four weeks to conduct a funeral; and a 
wedding comes once in about six weeks. His calls aver- 
age about ten a week. If, in addition to keeping his 
garden, acting as Scout-master, or taking time to help 
the Camp-Fire Girls, and conducting now and then 
chapel exercise in the public school, he is able to devote 
ten hours a week to study, he is fortunate. 

Statistics. Tlie movement for the social-centre 
church is just beginning. Opportunities are open in every 
State and almost every county in the Union. Salaries 
vary widely with an average for the first year of service 
at about ^1^900, and at maximum efficiency at $1,800 
to $2,000. The successful rural pastor, the one who is 
prepared to work on the modern programme, has the 
assurance of a permanent and pleasant pastorate. 

Women in the Ministry. Women at the present time 
carry on two types of work in the ministry. Some are 



46 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

ordained pastors of churches. This movement has gone 
forward slowly but with increasing success. The Inter- 
national Women Preachers' Association held its first 
meeting in Chicago in 1920. A recent study made by 
Mary Sumner Boyd' shows that in about fifty smaller 
denominations women are now ordained to the ministry. 
Among the Baptists and Disciples of Christ women 
pastors are occasionally met. The actual number of 
women ministers, how^ever, is very small. During 1920 
the Methodist Episcopal General Conference adopted a 
resolution giving women ecclesiastical equality. The 
Episcopal, Lutheran, Congregational, and Presbyterian 
Churches, however, do not yet allow women to preach. 

The second type of work which women are doing in 
the ministr}", one in which they have long been eminently 
successful, is that of pastor's w4fe. How large a place 
the wife of a pastor pla3's in the success of her husband 
is seldom realized. She shares his plans, his hardships, 
and his compensations. She helps many times in his 
overcrowded routine, and in many cases she supplements 
and balances shortcomings in his character which, with- 
out her, might prove disastrous. 

''How do 3'OU manage to do two men's work in a 
single day?" Livingstone once inquired of Spurgeon. 
"You have forgotten that there are two of us," replied 
the great London pastor, ''and the one you see the least 
of often does the most work.'" 



iln "The Woman Citizen," December 18, 1020, pp. 794-5. 
^Conwell, Russell PI., "Life of Charles H. Spurgeon," Philadel- 
phia, 1892, p. 235. 



CHAPTER III 
THE HOME MISSIONARY 

111 tlie North American sector, -with the division of 
home missions, tlie world war for the Christian conquest 
of mankind has entered its second phase. The first 
phase was a campaig-n to advance a line of churches 
across the continent. These home-mission churches were 
simply outposts, more or less isolated, meagTe and con- 
servative in programme, denominationally minded, 
strugg-lino- for existence. This preliminary establish- 
ment of chur^^ies was necessary. It was the indispens- 
able first step. The men who manned the enterprise, 
called home missionaries, were really religious frontiers- 
men. 

The new home mission of the church contemplates 
a more comprehensive programme than simply possess- 
ing the land through the planting of churches. Its aim 
is nothing less than the Christianizing of the community. 
The mission of the church is seen to be something more 
than maintaining life-saving stations to rescue men out 
of the world-that-is in order to prepare them for the 
world-to-come. The church must redeem the community 
and the whole community, and set up here and now a 
Christian social order. 

The theatre of war shifts, to a certain extent, from 
the sparsely settled West to the overflowing cities. Not 
outposts but social centres are the order of the day. 
Service men of a new type are being recruited, called 

47 



48 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

by such names as "social engineer," ''special-group 
expert," and "foreign-speaking pastor." 

These new marching orders in the home field are 
reorganizing and revitalizing the work of the boards. 
Departments and workers are becoming specialized. City 
and country are being surveyed and supplied with 
adequate plans and methods. The community parish, 
already described, owes its success and support largely 
to home-mission boards. Cities are adopting pro- 
grammes of correlation and federation, and are emphas- 
izing industrial relations, social service, and the main- 
tenance of down-town churches, as well as church exten- 
sion. The modern home missionary is as apt to be a 
specialist, serving a particular group, as he is to be a 
general home missionary. The purpose here is to consider 
several types of workers, usually ministers, and usually 
laboring under the authority of home-mission boards, 
whose vocations will not fall within any other chapter 
of this book. 

I. "General" Home Missionary 

The home missionary who accepts service beyond the 
United States or Canada, is for the present purposes, a 
foreign missionary, and his work will be described in 
Part ii. The type of worker included here is, there- 
fore, simply a city or country pastor, working under a 
mission board on the frontier and his programme, in 
general, is that already considered in chapter ii. To the 
extent that the church for which he labors becomes 
independent, this home missionary ceases to be a mission- 
ary. In the past, to a very considerable extent, home- 
missionary work of this general type has been a form 
of apprenticeship from which men have graduated to 



THE HOME MISSIONARY 49 

higher positions of executive leadership with their boards 
or into independent pastorates. Nevertheless, within 
limits the general home missionary represents a dis- 
tinctive vocation. More than is the case with any other 
religious worker in the homeland, perhaps, his is a three- 
in-one job ; he has the function of a pastor, the spirit of 
a foreign missionary, and the programme of a social- 
religious worker. 

Difficulties. To begin with, the home missionary 
works in a hard field, where financial support is scant, 
where trained leaders are lacking, and where the church 
is weak and faltering. The work is exacting and dis- 
couraging. In connection with a call for ministers for 
the frontier, one of the boards makes the significant 
qualification that they must have persistence enough to 
stick in spite of difficulties and discouragements, and 
love enough for Christ to "turn their backs on all 
inducements to resign for better positions and easier 
work. ' ' 

Satisfactions. The chief reward for enduring the 
hardships of the missionary trench-life comes through 
the opportunity for community leadership. The home 
missionary frequently becomes the voice for his town, 
his advice being sought in civic, social, and political 
affairs. Rev. Frank L. Moore, secretary for missions of 
the Congregational Home-Missionary Society, was at 
one time a home missionary in Cheyenne, Wyoming. 
Once in a time of discouragement, he confided to Dr. 
Gunsaulus, who was passing through the city, his mis- 
givings, and remarked that perhaps he should give up 
his work ; and when Dr. Gunsaulus remonstrated with 
him, assuring him that he 'Svas shaping the affairs of 



50 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

the State," he only smiled doubtfully. But the very 
next day he had occasion to recall his visitor's state- 
ment when the chief justice of the State called to ask 
his advice on an important matter. 

Qualifications and Preparation. Sound health, com- 
mon sense, splendid optimism, and heroic temperment, 
these are the qualities in a man for which home-mission 
boards look. He must possess to an unusual degree the 
capacity for finding men where they live and adapting 
himself to them. He must be able to get close to all 
classes and conditions of people. In preparation he is 
assumed to have a college and a theological degree, but 
in this kind of home-missionary work self-sacrificing 
consecration counts more than college degrees, and will 
usually find a place waiting for it. 

Statistics. Of the four thousand full-time workers 
employed by the Protestant home-mission boards, prob- 
ably no less than 1,800 are ordained general home mis- 
sionaries. The average salary is about $1,500 and manse. 
The boards are calling for more than six hundred men 
now. 

II. Pastor to Special Groups 

This field is limitless. There are the lumber camp, 
the mill town, the Indian, the Negro, the miner, and the 
immigrant. There are the rural parish, the industrial- 
centre parish, the city-immigrant parish, the southern- 
mountain parish, and the dowutown-city-church parish. 
The missionary in these special fields is increasingly a 
hand-picked man, especially qualified and especially pre- 
pared for his task. These specialized vocations, offering 
permanent life ])ositions, are more and more calling out 



THE HOME MISSIONARY 51 

men of parts and vision. One or two examples only will 
be considered to illustrate the genius of this phase of the 
new home-missionary enterprise. 

Immigrant Pastor. The Christian minister who is an 
expert with the immigrant group finds a parish in 
almost every American city. In the last hundred years 
thirty or forty million people have passed through Amer- 
ica 's wide-open, hospitable door. The trouble has been 
that to most of these Uncle Sam has proved a very poor 
host, folding his hands and letting them shift for them- 
selves. Speaking in terms of the races of men, New 
York is the capital of humanity, and there four out of 
every ten persons are foreign born. 

Programme. In New York City, where this kind of 
work is probably best organized, the immigrant expert 
has charge of a group of centres, or local churches, each 
with its own pastor and staff of lay and volunteer work- 
ers, together joined in a community parish. One such 
community leader has in his force four or five ministers, 
both native and foreign, and twenty-five other paid 
workers, and perhaps fifty part-time, volunteer helpers. 
His work is to plan, confer, and execute. In the highest 
sense he is a supervisor and specialist, knowing the ten- 
fold fascination of dealing with the human natures 
of not one class or race of people, but of all classes 
and of eight or ten races. He is a Christian states- 
man who hag under his thumb all the human prob- 
lems of the world. He is every day face to face 
in fact wdth the problems of Catholicism, of anarchy, 
of socialism, and of race hatred. He moulds out 
of chaos Christian character and ethical standards, 
community neighborliness and brotherhood, which in the 



52 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

area in which he works means world brotherhood. 

Difficulties and Satisfactions. The hard problems in 
such a programme fall too thick to catalogue. The immi- 
grant worker hurdles an obstacle at every step. He 
finds half a million people swirled by the centripetal 
force of circumstance into one small vicinity, a jostling 
mass of mediocracy. There is no common standard, no 
common ideal, no common language, no common tradi- 
tion, no homogeneity, no social consciousness. The social 
expert has simply five hundred thousand separate pieces 
of ill-sorted human material out of w^hich to try to 
build a healthy, wholesome, purposive, accomplishing 
community. Trouble enough in that ! No wonder that 
he must absorb himself in the slums; no wonder that 
he is shut off from outside interests ; no wonder that he 
finds the work taxing and so demanding that he is apt 
to fray himself out in bootless scattering of activities 
and in anxiety and worry. 

Satisfactions. The rewards are the professional 
pride of any engineer w^ho plans and achieves a great 
work which the world needs, with the added satisfaction 
which comes to him as a social engineer that he has 
wrought in the hardest field, the slum, with the rawest 
material, the immigrant, for the highest purpose, the 
bringing in of the democracy of God. 

Preparation. In addition to a college and seminary 
course the worker in this field of specialization needs to 
have had much preliminary experience through volun- 
teer service. Provision is made by some schools for 
students to do summer field-work under supervision. 
Most of all the specialist needs first-hand knowledge of 



THE HOME MISSIONARY 53 

the peoples among whom he is to work. To this end, 
more than one mission board now provides scholarships 
for choice men to spend at least one year abroad at the 
various sources of immigration, studying the language, 
literature, and lives of the people. • 

Foreign-Speaking Pastor. This type of minister is 
required in the home-mission enterprise for pastoral 
work among adult immigrants. The children soon learn 
English in the schools, but in spite of the goal that all 
immigrants should adopt not only American ideals and 
standards but also the language of America, parents 
cling to their native tongue. If immigration should cease, 
there would be no need for this worker after fifteen or 
twenty years, but in the meantime he is indispensable. 

Foreign-speaking pastors are of three kinds : Foreign- 
born, native-born of foreign parents, and native-born 
of native parents. Those of the first kind are liable to 
be deficient in English and in comprehending fully the 
Christian message; those of the third kind are liable to 
be deficient in understanding the foreign language and 
point of view. All things considered, if he has had good 
educational advantages, the man of the second type 
embodies the advantages of the first and third without 
the disadvantages of either. There are perhaps a dozen 
colleges in the United States which now offer special 
arrangements for training these men, in some the pro- 
vision being for a four-year college and theological 
course, open to those with a grade-school education, in 
others, for a three-year college and theological course 
for those having at least high-school training. 

Student Pastor. At many university and educa- 
tional centres denominational pastors are employed who 



54 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

take as tlieir parish the whole student bod}-, with its 
numbers of thinking students facing problems of read- 
justment. This is a fairly new form of work which does 
not come strictly under home-mission auspices. It is 
not considered a home-mission enterprise. It is more 
closely related to the denominational boards of educa- 
tion, or, indeed, may be carried on wholly under a strong 
local church, or in connection with a student Y. M. C. A. 

The denominational pastor makes it his business to 
know personally all students, who come from homes of 
similar faith, to know them by their first names, or 
maybe by their nicknames. He holds conferences with 
them in his office, helping them to iron out such diffi- 
culties as failure in scholarship, or moral breakdown. 
In times of illness he visits them ; and in the conduct of 
funerals and marriage services he is to the student body 
a regular pastor. Through his intimacy with the stu- 
dents, which extends so far as to include entertaining 
them in his own home, he is a strong asset in all the 
work of the local church. He conducts classes, promotes 
the young people's society, plans student parties and 
receptions at the church, and is always at the door at 
Sunday services, greeting the students and enlarging 
his acquaintance with them. 

A man develops into such a place of vital service as 
this through pastoral experience extending through some 
years. He must be a thorough scholar, a man of insight, 
and a man who is more than a good mixer. He must be a 
best mixer. For a background he must have a rich 
college experience of his own and he must be sympathetic 
and enthusiastic and familiar with the interests and 
activities of college men, able to enter wholeheartedly 
into the full life of the campus. Rev. H. M. Moore, in 



THE HOME MISSIONARY 55 

writing about his experience of seven years at Ithaca, 
among Cornell students, concludes with the statement : 
"I never had in the years of mj^ ministry anything 
U'hich brought the satisfaction that this work did." 

Statistics. Today the Protestant home-mission 
boards are probably emplo34ng no less than seven hun- 
dred or eight hundred ministers in the various forms of 
specialized service. Salaries vary from $1,800 and 
manse to $6,000. 



CHAPTER IV 

TWO SPECIALISTS 

I. Chaplain 

The chaplain specializes in soldiers. The life of the 
soldier is ordinarily as monotonous in peace as it is 
thrilling in war. After returning to be showered with 
gratitude, the conquering hero who remains in the 
service settles down to a thankless grind, of discipline 
and routine. The popularity of the army and navy in 
time of fighting is only equalled by their unpopularity 
at other times. Yet in peace as well as in war the men 
in uniform are on duty for the republic. Big-hearted, 
stalwart, and physically-fit men they are who live un- 
der abnormal conditions, without the customary moral 
support of home and social environment. 

Programme. Whether in army or navy, the chap- 
lain is an ordained minister who dons the uniform 
and accepts the regiment or the ship as his parish. 
His sermons to the men are usually of the short, prac- 
tical kind. His best sermons are his life and example 
of Christian friendship. In addition to having charge 
of all religious services, attendance upon which is vol- 
untary and which he conducts according to the prac- 
tice of the denomination to which he belongs, he also 
promotes Sunday-school, holiday services, special 

56 



TWO SPECIALISTS 57 

attractions, and recreational and educational activities. 
He visits all the sick, as well as the men under arrest. 
Marriag-es, funerals, baptisms, and other pastoral 
work come within his province. Although a pastor, his 
conduct, no less than that of the fighting men, is gov- 
erned by specific regulations. 

Difficulties. Perhaps the chief problem of the chap- 
lain is to avoid getting into the deadly rut of army 
life. He lacks stimulating outside contacts ; and, being 
left largely to his own deviceS; he has a temptation, as 
Gaylord S. White' suggests, to procrastinate and to 
become mentally and spiritually stagnant. With the 
possible exception of the financial, he has all the prob- 
lems of the regular pastor, and he has them in an inten- 
sified degree. Especially in the navy, he has the added 
handicap of long a.bsences from his family, for each 
three-year period of land service is usually alternated 
with a three-year cruise, during which time only occa- 
sional and brief shore-leave is possible. 

Compensations. Whatever troubles he may have, 
the chaplain never has to complain, as some ministers 
do, of a lack of men in his parish. Pie has about him 
every hour of every day the challenge of bringing 
Christ home to men, and to men whose need for Chris- 
tian spirit. Christian standards, and Christian motives, 
is doubly great. Military prestige is perhaps an attrac- 
tion, for from the first the chaplain ranks as an officer. 
His pay is certain and promotion assured. Patriotic 
considerations are present also. He serves his country 
a,s directly as he serves his God, for he contributes 



^From an "Outline of a Proposed Course on the Chaplaincy of the 
Army and Navy for Theological Seminaries." 



58 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

lar<>ely to that morale which is always the soul of the 
military establishment. 

Qualifications. No candidate is accepted as a chap- 
lain without passing a fairly severe physical examina- 
tion. He must be reasonably sound in every respect. 
Beyond this, he should possess ''dignity and a demo- 
cratic spirit," tact, and adaptability. He must have 
none of the chameleon about him. He must stand firm 
and not be swayed to and fro by every wind that blows. 
As Rev. E. 0. Watson' expresses it, "He must be a real 
man, and a man's man." 

Preparation. A regular college and theological 
course is recommended although not absolutely pre- 
scribed for the chaplain. In the examination wiiich is 
given for army chaplain candidates, the most weight 
attaches to "pastoral work as clergyman." Second 
in importance stands "attendance at college."' Ever}^ 
candidate must be an ordained minister, a member in 
good standing of the denomination to which he be- 
longs, must be recommended by some ecclesiastical 
body, and must be between the ages of twenty-three 
and forty-five. In the navy he must be between 
twenty-one and thirty-one and a half. 

Promotion. In the army, the chaplain enters as liea 
tenant, being promoted at the end of five years to cap- 
tain, at the end of fourteen to major, and at the end 
of twenty to lieutenant-colonel. As lieutenant his sal- 
ary is $2,500 a year. In addition, if he is married, he 



^Secretary of the General Commision of Army and Navy Chaplains, 
to whose kindness the writer is indebted for the facts of this section. 

^"Appointment of Chaplains in the U. S. Armv," Washington, 
1918, Special Bulletin No. 3, pp. 8-9. 



TWO SPECIALISTS 59 

is assigned suitable quarters. At maximum rank, that 
of lieutenant-colonel, he receives between $5,000 and 
$6,000. In the navy, the chaplain enters as a junior- 
grade lieutenant, being promoted after seven years to 
lieutenant, and, after four more years, to lieutenant- 
commander. Beyond this, promotion is by selection, 
the highest rank being that of captain, which corre- 
sponds to a colonel in the army. The pay in the navy 
is practically equivalent to that in the army. 

Statistics. In the army are about 105 regular chap- 
lains, of whom seventy-three per cent are Protestant ; 
in the navy, about 108, of whom seventy-eight per cent 
are Protestant.' This is, however, on a peace footing. 
Since there is approximately one chaplain for each 
1,200 officers and men, the opportunities for recruits in 
this form of religious vocation increase at the rate of 
about eighty for each hundred thousand men called to 
the colors. 

II. Evangelist 

The evangelist is assumed to be a specialist in con- 
version. For the purposes of this book, he may be 
defined as a minister who devotes himself exclusively 
to conducting revivals, protracted meetings, or evan- 
gelistic services for churches or groups of churches. 
Although many times regular pastors, by carrying on 
such meetings either in their own or neighboring 
churches, assume for the time being the role of evan- 
gelist, the present section undertakes to treat only of 
the professional in this field. 



1" Yearbook of the Churches," Revell, N. Y., 1920, pp. 181-5. 



60 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Programme. While in general his programme differs 
little from that of the pastor, there are respects in 
which the evangelist's work is more or less specialized. 
In the first place, he lays special stress upon the win- 
ning of souls. He drives home to the sinner the simple 
sound doctrine of salvation by repentance and regen- 
eration through the Spirit of God. He is conservative 
and thoroughly orthodo:^^ in doctrine, emphatic and 
convincing in method. In this connection, he encour- 
ages Bible study and personal soul-winning among the 
church members, for personal work is the keynote of 
his message. 

But the evangelist is more than a converter. He 
not only plans to increase the membership of the church 
but to revitalize it as well. He discusses popular sins 
which the pastor too often fails to tackle ; he raises 
deficits or increases church budgets and stimulates 
Christian stewardship ; he frequently launches build- 
ing campaigns ; he gives a new impetus to gospel sing- 
ing ; he recruits volunteers for religious life-service ; he 
inaugurates new and better methods in local congrega- 
tions. Advancing the cause of Christian union may 
be set down as a feature of his programme, especially 
if his meeting is a co-operative effort among several 
churches. In short, to a greater extent than is popu- 
larly understood, the evangelist is one who comes to 
set things in order. 

The Meeting". Revival meetings are of two types, 
single-church and union. If a, well-known evangelist 
is called to hold a meeting in a middle-western city of 
one to two hundred thousand population, six times out 
of ten it is a meeting of the union type, in which per- 



TWO SPECIALISTS 6i 

haps six or eig:ht churches unite. Such a meeting is 
likely to last about six weeks, have an average attend- 
ance of 1,200, and result in something like 450 acces- 
sions by confession, 100 by letter, and 150 by reinstate- 
ment. If it is a one-church meeting, it is likely to 
last about three weeks, with an average attendance of 
about 500, and result in 150 accessions by confession, 
and forty each by letter and reinstatement. All such 
estimates as these are subject to great variation. 

Routine. The successful evangelist holds from seven 
to nine meetings a year, spending perhaps eight months 
in the field. His routine, for whichever type of meet- 
ing he holds, is about the same. In the course of a 
week he gives ten sermons, four addresses, and five or 
six talks. In addition to half a dozen conferences, four 
or five noon meetings, and two or three special-group 
gatherings, he conducts ten regular services. Crowded 
in between talking and meeting people in crowds, the 
evangelist manages to make fifteen or twenty calls and 
hold thirty or forty interviews. Study is usually 
crowded down to about ten hours a week. 

Difficulties. A majority of the twenty evangelists 
interrogated by the writer consider their greatest 
problem to be ''working against adverse local condi- 
tions." Added to the general indifference, which is 
the great hindrance to revivals, they find all sorts of 
special troubles which need ironing out. Perhaps the 
congregation is divided, or the pastor is unpopular ; or 
spirituality is at a low ebb ; or the church is going on 
financial rocks. The evangelist never faces ideal con- 
ditions. He cannot expect to. It is usually because 



62 KELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

there is sometliing wron*^^ that he is sent for. The case 
here is somewhat aiiak^gous to having a physician say 
that his greatest problem is finding his patients sick ! 
However, there are other difficulties as well. Of 
these, a.bsence from one's famil}^ for a greater share of 
the time is not the least. Bad weather during meetings 
is an annoyance which must be cheerfully and fre- 
quently endured. Organizing the lay forces of the 
church for effective service is a slow and trying task 
for a man who comes into the community a virtual 
stranger and w^ho finds a tendency on the part of the 
people to let him do the work. Sectarianism is fre- 
quently mentioned as a hindrance by those engaged in 
holding union meetings. 

AVhat is probably the most vital drawback to the 
work of the evangelist remains to be considered. There 
is a widespread and growing sentiment among the 
church at large which is unfavorable to the profes- 
sional evangelist. ''Being accused of being a grafter 
and fleecer," which several evangelists mention as one 
of the problems, is one form in which this sentiment 
finds expression. The injudicious methods of some 
evangelists, which have operated to bring discredit 
upon all ; the apparent lack of permanance of results ; 
and the impossibility of adopting a method and sub- 
ject-matter which will find acceptance with all classes 
of people, saints and sinners, intellectuals and emo- 
tionals, at tlie same time, are among the factors which 
are to blame for this condition. 

Among the contributory causes which are at work 
beneath the surface should be included the notion that 
gradual education rather than sudden conversion is 
the normal course of religious development. A recent 



TWO SPECIALISTS 63 

study* of revivals seems to indicate that possibly ''the 
effect of the revivals is not to increase the total con- 
versions" (Coe) but merely to hasten them, thus mak- 
ing accession a matter of spurt rather than of steady 
increase, which would come without them. Possibly 
the net gain of the revival is more apparent than real. 
Then, again, the current socializing of the Christian 
message appears to favor a new conception of social 
conversion, which shall take into account not only the 
individual seeking salvation but the community and 
group interests, activities, and ideals through which 
personal salvation must be wrought. This point of 
view is illustrated by the following quotation from 
Paul Moore Strayer, inserted here wholly for the pur- 
pose of indicating one of the chief problems which 
faces the evangelist : 

''His (the evangelist's) training does not fit him to 
lead in the great movement for social readjustment. 
His message does not stir the social conscience and 
deepen the sense of civic responsibility in those he gets 
together, and the revival method has almost col- 
lapsed. ' " 

Satisfactions. Whatever may be, in the light of such 
criticisms, the desirable readjustment in evangelistic 
methods and standards, the evangelist has the assur- 
ance that his message and purpose are vital to the 
church. "Adding unto the church" will remain a 
fundamental item of its programme as long as the 
church endures ; and the evangelist finds his great 
charter in the Acts of the Apostles. 



^Dike, Samuel W., "A Study of New England Revivals," American 
Journal of Sociology, Vol. XV, 1909, pp. 361-78. 

■■^"The Reconstruction of the Church," Macmillan, N. Y., 1919, 
p. 203. 



64 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

The need for some form of evangelistic effort is press- 
ing. Whereas the churches grew sixty-one per cent 
from 1890 to 1906, in the next ten years they increased 
only nineteen per cent/ From these figures it is pos- 
sible to estimate that in the year 1890 there was one 
addition to the church for each twentj^-seven members ; 
but in the year 1916, it required sixty-eight Christians 
to win one. In one large denomination in a recent year 
one thousand churches reported no additions by con- 
fession. It is such a condition as this among the 
churches of the land which accounts for the fact that the 
evangelist finds one source of compensation in the con- 
viction that his work is the greatest possible oppor- 
tunity in this generation for serving Christ and the 
church. 

The chief compensation of the evangelist is to preach 
the gospel to multitudes who are hungry for the bread 
of life, who are eager for the old story in all its direct 
force and power. Among these are many Avho never 
otherwise hear a sermon. These it is the unique privi- 
lege of the evangelist to reach, for, in addition to reviv- 
ing the church and putting it to work, and to opening 
the eyes of the people to a new sense of sin and respon- 
sibility, the evangelist has the sure knowledge that he 
stimulates church attendance and popularizes the 
church in the community. 

Desirable Qualities. It is not possible to set off a 
distinct set of qualities which fit the evangelist in con- 
trast to those which are desirable for the minister in 
general. Certain qualifications are, however, relatively 
important. The evangelist must possess not only a 



^Bulletin 142, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, Wash- 
ington, 1920, p. 29. 



TWO SPECIALISTS 65 

relig'ious oxpci-icMUH' wliicli has made him love God, but 
ho must to a markod dojiroe be a lover of men as well. 
II is must bo a ma«iiiotio, ])owert'ul-to-])ersuade, dead-in- 
Oarnost ])orsoualit y. To a strong- i)hysi(iuo, ^ood con- 
trol of toinpor, (lisoinMion, and koon sense of humor, ho 
sliould a.dd a manly apjioai-anoo of di«;'nity and poise. 

Preparation. IMinisters do not ordinarily step out of 
tlio seminary into suooossfid evani;olistic work. At 
least five years of ro^idar pastoral experieneo and re- 
sponsibility sooms a desirable apprenticeship for the 
ovanuolist. Some successful evanixelists sugj2:est a 
course in a Uiblo oolloiio in i^rot'oronoo to tlio regular 
theoloii'ioal trainini^-, whioli, liowovor, remains the nor- 
mal standard. 

Statistics. Aoourato (ii^uros are nowhere available 
for this vocation. The membership list of the Inter- 
denominational Association of Evangelists' for 1919-20 
includes 1208 "accredited and authorized evang'elists." 
A very conservative estimate, no doubt, would be five 
hundred professional Protestant ovang-elists. Men usu- 
ally enter this distinctive field of service at about thir- 
ty-tivo. In liis first years, the ovano'elist gets about 
$l!.000 aniuially. In liis ])rimo, his salary ranges all 
tlio way from $3,600 to $10,000, with an average at 
abcnit $5,000. 



■•Gonoriil SoiriMary, Winonn Lako, Indiana. 



CHAPTER V 
THE ''MAN HIGHER UP" 

Beside the vocations of x)astoi% general home mission- 
ary, specialized home missionary, chaplain, and evan- 
gelist, the ordained minister has open to him, in addi- 
tion to many others, at least three types of position. 
These are religious editor, religious educator, and de- 
nominational and interdenominational executive. None 
of these places are pre-empted by clergymen, but 
clergymen probably predominate in them. None of 
them are ordinarily open to newly ordained- men. They 
are recruited primarily by selection from the ranks of 
the pastorate. They represent the highest vocational 
promotion within the gift of the church. By the term 
''man higher up" is meant simply this: that in the 
scheme of organized religious enterprise such a one 
occupies a place nearer the apex of the pyramid. 

I. Religious Editor 

Dr. Henry H. Myers estimates the total circulation 
for religious literature in the United States at thirty 
to thirty-five million : an audience fit to challenge the 
best output of a Christian press. To meet this market, 
publications of all types in large quantities are pre- 
pared. The publication societies of the denominational 
boards, representing an outlay of nearly half a million 
dollars annually, employ many workers, some of them 

66 



THE ''MAN HIGHER UP" 67 

youiiir people with journalistic ability who are work- 
intr up. Many others, laymen and clerjiy, contribute 
from time to time, but are not wholly identified with 
editorial work. The chief executive, in the main, is an 
ordained minister. 

Programme. The religious editor supervises and di- 
rects a. staff, representing perhaps five departments : 
teachers', young people's, elementary, foreign-language 
and missionary literature, and home publications, all 
producing text-books, quarterlies, promotional mate- 
rial, and periodicals. The editor is responsible for 
general policies and standards. He writes and edits, 
but he also inspires the writing of others. 

Other Considerations. ''There are no chief problems, 
but a swarm of minor ones coming up each day," 
writes Amos R. Wells of the work of the religous edi- 
tor. As to desirable qualities, these are broad scholar- 
ship, wide sympathy, the spirit of enterprise, imagina- 
tion, vision, constructive-mindedness, and, above all, 
literary power. The college and theological training 
which, as minister, this worker may be assumed to pos- 
sess, should include, especially if the editor of the fu- 
ture is to meet the demands of the new religious edu- 
cation, considerable specialization in literature, and 
rather less of theology and more of pedagogy. 

Statistics. At least thirty-two donominations now 
have Sunday-school departments employing editors. In 
addition, there are about two hundred donominational 
publications, eighty per cent of which are edited by 
clergymen. Three hundred would be a low estimate 
for the ordained ministers engaged solely in work as 



68 llELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

religions editors. Salaries range from $2,500 at time 
of appointment to $(),()00 at maxinmm effieiency. 

11. Religious Educator 

Evangelical Protestant schools, colleges, and semin- 
aries in the United States number no less tlian 1,200, 
with more than a quarter of a million students. Prac- 
tically one hundred per cent of the faculties of the 
theological seminaries, and twenty per cent to thirty 
per cent of all other denominational schools are min- 
isters. Perhaps ninety-five per cent of the presidents 
of denominational colleges are clergymen. Many are di- 
rectors of religious education, also. (See Part III, 
Chapter XIII.) Ministers fill the positions of instruc- 
tors, professors, heads and* deans of departments, and 
presidents. 

• 

Programme. The programme of the religious edu- 
cator is that of any educator plus religious teaching 
and direct Christian influence. Most ordained men 
preach more or less regularly in connection with school 
work. Teaching for the clergyman has both advan- 
tages and disadvantages. "There are plenty of both," 
as Dean Vichert expresses it. If the teacher is a suc- 
cessful public speaker, who has once felt the fascina- 
tion of preaching, he is apt to grow restless under the 
restrictions and limitations of teaching. Dr. Hugh 
Black points out that the teacher has the problem to 
avoid becoming static and academic a,nd removed from 
real life. 

On the other hand, the college or seminary professor, 
teaching and developing a religious subject in which 
he is deeply concerned, released from pastoral cares 



THE ''MAN HIGHER UP" 69 

and responsibilities, free from ecclesiastical or political 
pressure of any kind, as he usually is, cultivating the 
peculiarly significant relationship which exists only be- 
tween scholar and teacher, enjoj^s a rare opportunity 
for genuine personal satisfaction and far-reaching in- 
fluence. Not his least compensation is to live in what 
John L. Seaton calls "an atmosphere in which the pas- 
sion for service easily grows. ' ' 



Qualifications and Preparation. The kind of man 
wanted by institutions of religious education possesses 
a passion for his subject and thorough knowledge of it, 
deep sympathy with youth, the capacity to command 
the respect and confidence of the students, an attrac- 
tive and inspiring personality, a scholarly mind. Chris- 
tian idealism, and a gift for teaching, qualities easily 
catalogued but with great difficulty assembled in one 
human being. College degrees come much easier. Of 
these the least that is acceptable to-day is an A. M. for 
teaching in college, and for teaching in seminaries, four 
years in college, a seminary course, and two or three 
additional years of graduate study, evidenced by the 
degree of Ph. D. 

Statistics. Probably no less than 2,000 ministers are 
employed in full-time religious teaching and adminis- 
trative work. Salaries vary greatly, depending upon 
type and size of school, and upon position. Men are 
seldom called under thirty, and the salary at first 
ranges from $1,500 to $2,000 ; at maximum, from $3,000 
to $4,500. 



70 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

III. The Executive 

Not all the men of bi<? business are in industry. 
Much of the highest-keyed, most alert man-power in 
America is linked up with the Christian church, which 
is no mean enterprise. Organized departments of 
church w^ork in the United States handle more money 
and employ more men than many harvester companies, 
automobile concerns, national banks, hotels, factories, 
and mills. One foreign-mission board alone collects 
and disburses annually more than $7,000,000, another 
$3,000,000, and one woman's board, $2,000,000. The 
combined home and foreign missionary undertaking of 
the Protestant church represents not less than $43,- 
000,000 annually and a total full-time payroll of not 
less than 15,000 workers. Just the administrative 
'' overhead" (salaries, rents, etc.) of the home-mission 
boards alone represents three-quarters of a million 
annually. 

In New York City, w^here the headquarters for many 
of the denominations and for much interdenomina- 
tional work are located, the national executives of 
Christianity take on the spirit of the great cosmopol- 
itan city. The whir, the virility, the power of the 
metropolis get into their blood. In skyscraper offices 
above the roar of the streets, overlooking the world, 
with secretaries and ante-rooms, where typew^riters 
continually buzz, these men appear right certainly 
men of large affairs, confident, polished, poised, sure 
of themselves, low-speaking, incisive, intense, capable 
and cordial, the effective higher servants of the King- 
dom of God, which in this generation has become a 
great, going, thriving, spiritual concern. 



THE ''MAN HIGHER UP" 71 

Types. The small army of executives who head 
church and interchurch programmes may roughly be 
classified as (1) general national executives, or "senior 
secretaries," (2) departmental secretaries, or "direc- 
tors," and (3) field executives, or "missionary superin- 
tendents." These last are usually regional executives, 
administering over a State, synod, or district. It is not 
alwaj^s easy to draw clear distinctions either between 
these three types, or between these purely executive 
positions with those which call for field promotional 
work, which is considered in chapter xi. Practically all 
the executives considered here are clergymen. Along 
with other departments or boards of the church, such as 
home, foreign, education, publication, Sunday-schooL 
church-extension, there are ususally women's boards, 
especially of home and foreign missions. The execu- 
tives of these boards are women, to whom in general 
what is said here applies equally. 

Programme. The general programme of an execu- 
tive depends entirely upon the phase of the work with 
which he is attached. If he is with the foreign board, 
he carries in head and heart the responsibility for initiat- 
ing and promoting policies and plans, for getting the 
home church behind the foreign undertaking. The pro- 
gramme, difficulties, and satisfactions of the foreign 
missionar}^ himself are, to a certain extent, his. If he is 
emplo3^ed as a secretary of the Federal Council of the 
Churches of Christ in America, the outstanding, most 
tangible object lesson in the world of Christ's prayer 
that they all might be one, his work also varies with 
the particular commission with which he is associated. 



72 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Routine. In any of these positions it is impossible 
to schedule a man's work. It is not unusual for him to 
send out as many as a thousand letters a month. He 
spends his days at headquarters, in interviews and a 
regular round of nerve-and-brain-consuming conferences 
with leaders. Perhaps he delivers as many as ten 
addresses a month or more, and a fifth of his time 
probably he spends in travel. 

Difficulties. Such work, therefore, involves consid- 
erable absence from home, night-work, and the wear 
and tear of travel. It goes without saying that the 
secretaryship means financial loss and the giving up of 
business and personal success in other lines. The 
requirement for unusual gifts is so high that no one can 
succeed here who could not succeed in other places of 
leadership. In one board is a man to-day who gave 
up a salary of three times what he now gets. Another 
problem is the fact that the executive is more or less 
cut off from personal contacts with the body of the 
church. Some men feel this so keenly that they ask to be 
relieved from successful work in order to get back to 
the enrichening relationships of parish life. 

The greatest drawback to this type of worker, how- 
ever, is the inherent difficult}^ in attempting to lead a 
great organization which is to its core democratic. In 
other kinds of management, where the same standards 
of efficiency prevail, the chief executive is an autocrat, 
who controls absolutelj^ In the Protestant church there 
is no autocracy, men's opinions differ, and their adher- 
ence to a plan must be won, not commanded. The organ- 
ization is a democracy; the president, an unseen lord. 
Thus every world-vision which the executive by virtue of 



J 



THE ''MAN HIGHER JP" 73 

his position at the central office comes to cherish is all 
too slow of accomplishment. 

Satisfactions. Compensations come to the executive 
in proportion to the privilege given him of putting his 
life into big plans, of promoting unit}^ in spirit and 
action, and in seeing Christianity move splendidly for- 
ward across the world. His position gives him an 
enlarged point of view, a Avidened acquaintanceship 
and fellow^ship with men of rare endowments; and 
through his organized activities and country-wide con- 
tacts he multiplies his life many times in influence. 

Qualifications. Good judgment, ability to inspire 
confidence and to meet people, and especially an "inter- 
church attitude of mind, ' ' is Dr. Roy Guild 's description 
of a fit man for the interdenominational secretaryship. 
A level head and administrative and platform ability 
are desirable. Such a man is a forceful personality, with 
a well-developed capacity for co-operation. Dr. Robert 
E. Speer writes that the secretary should possess the 
qualities which one would look for in a faithful and effi- 
cient man anywhere, ' ' plus more than ordinary executive 
ability and more than ordinary capacity to state a case 
or make an appeal." 

Preparation. The usual preparation for the execu- 
tive is a successful pastorate. A man is often called 
for a position for which his past conspicuous success 
especially fits him. In other cases he is promoted from 
the position of regional to that of national executive, 
or from that of departmental or associate secretary. 
He is seldom if ever called directly from the seminary. 



74 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Statistics. On the l)asis of the g'oveniinciil census 
for 19K), which indicated that about two per cent of 
ministers were en^ia^ied in non-pastoral denominational 
work, it may be assumed that not less than 2,000 
clergymen are to-day filling such positions as those 
here described. Regional executives enter the field 
about the age of thirty, salary $2,000 to $4,000; direc- 
tors, probably called somewhat later, salary $4,000 to 
$5,000 ; and national denominational board executives 
called at an average age of about forty-five, $6,000 to 
$8,000. 

This completes the survey of those distinctive tj^pes 
of occupations in which the minister in the United 
States ordinarily serves. It is not exhaustive. Some 
types of work to which entrance is selective have been 
included even though not .of direct concern for the 
recruit in order to indicate the rich variety and sig- 
nificance of the ministry, which to-day affords abund- 
ant opportunity for young men, twenty-five to forty- 
five, preferably married, who possess, in the words of 
Grant K. Lewis, "a big faculty of common sense, and 
who are in harmony with the spirit of the age." 



REFERENCES, PART I 75 



REFERENCES 

PART I 

General 

a. Crawford, Leonidas W., ' ' Vocations Avithin the Church, ' ' 

Abingdon Press, Ncav York City, 1920. 

b. Diffendorf er, Ealph E., ' ' Church and the Community, ' ' Inter- 

church, New York City, 1920. 

c. Strayer, Paul M., ''Reconstruction of the Church," Macmil- 

lan, New York City, 1919. 

d. ' ' Yearbook of the Churches, ' ' Federal Council of Churches of 

Christ in Aimerica, New York City, 1920. 

Chapter I 

e. Allen, Frederick J., ' ' Source Book of Occupations, ' ' Harvard 

University Press, 1921. 

f . Brewer, John M., ' ' Vocational Guidance Movement, ' ' Mac- 

millan. New York City, 1919. 

Chapter II 

g. Abbott, Lyman, ' ' Christian Ministry, ' ' Houghton Mifflin Co., 

New York City, 1905. 

h. Cadman, S. Parkes, ''Ambassadors of God," Macmillan, New 
York City, 1920. 

i. Mott, John R., ' ' Future Leadership of the Church, ' ' Asso- 
ciated Press, New York City, 1909. 

j. Mott. John R., ' ' Claims and Opportunities of the Christian 
Ministry," Do., 1919. 

k. Morse, Richard, ' ' Fear God in Your Own Community, ' ' Henry 
Holt and Co., New York City, 1918. 

1. Wilson, Lucius E., ' ' Community Leadership : the New Profes- 
sion, ' ' American City Bureau, New York City, 1919. 

m. Hoyt, Arthur S., "The Preacher," Macmillan Co., Ncav York 
City, 1909. 



71) KELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Chapter III 

n. Douglass, II. Paul, * ' The Now Homo Missions,'' Missionary 

Education Movement. Now York I'ity, U)14, 
o. MoClure, ArclubaUl. ' ' Loadorshiii of the Now Amorioa,'' 

George H. Doran Co.., New York City, liUli. 
p. AVhittles, Thomas D., "Frank Iliggins. Trail Blazer," Inter- 

ehurch World MovoniouT. Now York City, li>-0. 

Chapter IV 

q. Cavert, 8anuiel MoC, '"Church's Distinguished-Service Cross," 
in "The Continent," November 0, 1919. 

r. Coe, Geo. A., "Psychology of Eeligiou, '' University of Chi- 
cago Press, \9\(\. 

s. Frazier, John B., "Navy Chaplain's Manual," Federal Coun- 
cil of Churches of Christ in Amieriea, Xe^v Y'ork City, 1918. 

t. Ottman, Ford C, "Life of J. Wilbur Chapman," Doubleday, 
Page and Co., New Y'ork City. 19l!0. 

u. Stearns, Gustav, "From Army Camps and Rattletields, " 
Augsburg Publishing Company, Minneapolis, Minn., 1920. 

Chapter V 

v. Guild, Roy B., " Comnmnity Programs for Co-operating 
Churches," Chapter IX. Associated Press, Now York City, 
1920. 



ASSIGNMENTS, PART I 77 



ASSIGNMENTS 
PART I 

Chapter I 

* What const it utos a call to religious work'? 

* Which of these three factors should have most weight in 

determining one's choice of life-work: (1) need, (2) fit- 
ness, (3) ''call'"? 

* To what extent should financial remuneration influence a 

religious worker's choice of a vocation? 

1. Prepare a chart showing the various church and interchurch 

organizations from smallest local unit to highest interna- 
tional relationships (see a, d, and the yearbook of your 
own denomination), indicate vocational openings. 

Chapter II 

* What is the source of the granting of special privileges to the 

clergy? Should they continue to be granted? 

* Who w-as the most successful pastor you have known? What 

was the secret of his success? 

2. Contrast the urban and rural pastor in as many points as 

possible. 

3. Describe at least five different types of parish (see b). 

4. Explain how a rural church can develop its resources in order 

to serve best the whole community (see k). 

Chapter III 

* In what respects does a home missionary differ from a foreign 

missionary ? 

* What home-missionary work have you ever done or seen done? 

5. Describe the work of the home missionary in a logging camp 

(see p). 

6. Tell about other, groups in the United States, Jew, Oriental, 

Mormon, who require home-missionary work. 



78 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Chapter IV 

* When are the services of a chaplain more needed by the men 

to wlioni lie is assigned, in Avar or in peace? 

7. If the army should be raised to 1,200,000 men, how many 

chaplains would be required? 

8. Read the life of an evangelist, reporting to the class the 

vocational steps in his career, early decision, preparation, 
qualities, success. 

Chapter V 

9. Tell the class about the Avork and programme of one of your 

denominational boards. 

In General 

* Was Jesus ordained? Humanly speaking, Avas He pastor, 

missionary, evangelist, teacher? Classify His activities 
vocationally. 

10. IntervieAv a Avorker in one of the vocations described in this 

section, aiming in your report to bring out additional 
points. 

11. Which vocation presented is most desirable? Which least 

desirable ? 

12. Study case 2 (appendix 4) and be prepared to advise the 

subject of it, case 5, case 8. 

13. Select the chief difficulty and the chief desirable quality 

Avhich are most nearly distinctive of each type of worker 
considered. 

14. For a special project for part 1, see appendix 3. 



PART II 
FOREIGN MISSIONARY 

' ' Almost ail}' man or woman with a 
Avell-poised mind in a sound body, with 
a living Christian character and an 
intense desire to have other men share 
his faith and knowledge, can be utilized 
on the vast plantation of the mission 
field. ' ' 
. Galen M. Fisher. 



79 



' ' There are -women * pouring tea ' all 
winter who might be lifting hundreds of 
Oriental girls into neAv womanhood. 
There are able-bodied Americans wathout 
a vision or a task, useless as chips on 
the stream, when they might be directing 
the main currents of life for a province 
or a nation. Devotion to a great cause 
makes a great life. ' ' 

President Faunce. 



80 



CHAPTER VI 
GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 

I. Ordained Evangelist 

**I want to go to that part of the world where men 
seem to be most lost," said a man, afterward Bishop 
of Uganda. That part of the world, many think, is to 
be found in the field of foreign missions. It is there 
where hospitals and doctors are most scarce, where 
schools are most rare, where social welfare has least 
meaning, and where enlightenment awaits longest the 
transforming power of a knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

For each ten thousand of population Africa has only 
fifty-three Christian communicants, India, only eigh- 
teen, Japan, only fourteen, and China, only eight. Cut 
out a paper disc about the size of a silver dollar. Stick 
through it at the centre an ordinary flat-headed pin. 
Let the disc represent the population of Japan, and 
the head of the pin indicates approximately Japan's 
entire Christian community. The areas still unoccu- 
pied by Protestant missions in Asia, Africa, and South 
America about equal in extent and in population the 
North American continent. In a group of one hun- 
dred, representing the population of the world, Chris- 
tians, including those of the Roman Catholic and 
Eastern churches, holding the adherence of only thirty- 
six, will be outnumbered by heathen religionists almost 

81 



82 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

two to one. In some places the Christian missionary 
has not gone, in others he has only a foothold, in 
others he fights with his heels dug in; everywhere he 
advances against odds and nowhere is he 3'et vic- 
torious. 

Programme. In the face of this world situation, 
Christianity mobilizes its forces. However, although 
an ever-increasing division of labor brings not only 
physicians and nurses, but teachers, agriculturists, so- 
cial workers, and other specialists into the enterprise, 
the general missionary, the ordained preacher of the 
gospel, continues to bear in large measure the brunt 
of the Christian conquest of the world. His is a clear- 
cut programme. It is none other than the Great Com- 
mission — old, yet new with each generation — to go, to 
make disciples of all the nations, and always to look 
confidently to Jesus Christ for His presence. His 
guidance, and His power. 

In carrying out this universal programme, the work 
of the general missionary divides into several types, 
one of which is pioneering. The pioneer attacks new 
fields. He is a scout for Christianity and for civiliza- 
tix)n who plunges alone into the unexplored to make a 
clearing in the hearts of a wilderness people for the 
church, the school, and the hospital. The apostle to 
the Lao, Dr. McGilvray, was such a pioneer. Once, on 
a trip of exploration, he caught the trail of a people 
of strange tongue. He followed them. He established 
among them the first church where now there are a 
score of churches with a membership of 4,000. He 
laid the foundations of a medical work which now con- 
sists of five hospitals, and of an educational work now 
numbering eight boarding and twenty-two elementary 



GENERAL ORDATXED MISSIONARY 33 

schools. Christian pioneering is not yet finished. In 
East Siam alone are four provinces with a population 
of 2.500,000* awaiting the voice of one crying in the 
wilderness, make ye ready the way of the Lord. 

The pioneer may in the course of time carry on other 
types of work. The general missionary may, indeed, 
fill any one of several positions. He may be pastor of 
a. large church, director of an institutional church, 
superintendent of city or district evangelistic work, 
perhaps a professor in or president of a theological 
school. He may serve in more than one capacity at 
once. The type of his work differs also with the field 
in which he is engaged. 

African Rural Mission. In a rural mission in Africa, 
for example, he has a varied schedule. He preaches 
regularly. He goes frequently on tour, holding evan- 
gelistic meetings and inspecting out-stations. In the 
meantime he oversees the whole work of the station, 
church, school, and hospital ; and trains and directs 
native forces. Perhaps he prepares literature. He 
deals with backsliders. He is moral physician to the 
community as well as to his flock ; arbiter of differences 
between Christians ; friend and advisor to chiefs and 
rulers. He must know how to do everything from 
digging a well to sewing on buttons or designing 
dresses for women; from cultivating friendships, gar- 
dening, cobbling, binding a book, mending furniture, 
running a magic lantern, and managing the print- 
shop, to performing the rites of the undertaker. Dur- 
ing every hour of every busy day of overseeing, en- 
couraging, inspiring, preaching, and instructing, he is 



*Speer, R. E., "Student Volunteer Movement Bulletin," January, 
1921. p. 15. 



84 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

engaged in tlie constant activity of personal soul-win- 
ning and of living a Christlike life before men, which 
is tlie core of the missionary's task. 

District Superintendent in China. A different pic- 
ture is tha.t of a district superintendent of a well- 
organized area in China. AVithin a radius of perhaps 
fifty miles this missionary worker may have under his 
care twenty churches, some in villages with a mem- 
bership of thirty to two hundred, where there will be 
also an elementary mission school for girls and one 
for boys ; some in larger towns or cities with a mem- 
bership a,s high as 1,200, as completely organized as 
churches at the home base, and each of them prob- 
ably carrying on a volunteer evangelistic work through 
small chapels and street meetings which put to shame 
many American churches. Chinese pastors serve all 
these churches. The work of the superintendent is to 
make a round of his district from one to three times 
a year, to conduct special evangelistic meetings here 
and there, and to conduct annual conferences or insti- 
tutes, lasting about ten days, for the training and in- 
spiring of his Chinese pastors, for he is in very real 
way the spiritual father of the pastors, churches, and 
workers of his district. 

Difficulties. The man who becomes a general mis- 
sionary, whatever be his specific task, faces ceaseless 
activity, hard work, and heavy responsibility. Room 
enough here for romance and heroism ! Yet in the 
presence of many pressing problems his sense of the 
romantic soon wears off. The first difficulties are 
those of adjustment. The native language tests him 
severely. ''Here a man lays hold on something as dif- 



GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 85 

ficult as a whole college course, with nothing but 
grammars, dictionaries, and the grace of God to help 
him. ' '* For the most of the first year and perhaps the 
second this task absorbs him. Hardly less difficult is 
his adjustment to the climate. From it he has no es- 
cape. Night and daj^ it is hunting weak spots in his 
constitution. From the deadly rays of the sun he must 
shield himself ; from the sudden chill after sunset he 
must wrap himself; and against the insidious malaria 
he must continually drug himself. 

To native society he must also get adjusted. Not all 
natives are degraded, filthy, and repulsive, but some 
are ; and the missionary confronts the acute problem of 
transforming the general concept of Christ's boundless 
love and of universal brotherhood into concrete per- 
sonal contacts with people from which he would nat- 
urally shrink. Finally he faces another adjustment as 
hard as the language, and as dangerous as the climate 
— adjustment to the loneliness in which he finds him- 
self. Home, classmates, friends, are wiped out of his 
immediate life. He is no longer one among a great 
association, sharing common institutions, traditions, 
and aspirations under a common flag and with a com- 
mon civilzation. He is like a man in a lighthouse far 
oft' shore, in a far-off sea, left alone. To many this 
proves the most severe trial of missionary life. 

The difficulties of the work itself are^ great. The mis- 
sionary 's church is itself isolated. In programmes for 
personal and social righteousness it stands compara- 
tively alone, supported by no public opinion not of its 
own creating. As plans for social and community bet- 
terment enlarge, the brunt of building sentiment and 



*Peeke, Rev. H. V. S., in "Call, Qualifications, and Preparation of 
Missionary Candidates," Student Volunteer Movement, 1906, p. 201. 



86 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

of inspiring social organizations falls upon the single- 
handed church, and the load of the missionary is in- 
creased. International relations present another deli- 
cate problem. Although his interests are primarily re- 
ligious, the position of the missionary as leader of a 
great vital force for civilization places his work pecul- 
iarly at the mercy of the shifting relations between 
nations. Almost daily he faces the astute question- 
ing of native scholars, many of them men of high at- 
tainment, keen of intellect, and sound in logic, who 
are often learned not only in native religions but who 
are surprisingly familiar with Christianity itself, 
especially with the points of attack made upon it in 
the homeland by scholars of modern scientific method. 

The frailty and shortcomings of the native converts, 
whose conduct so often leaves much to be desired, is 
apt to be a sore trial to the missionary, who must 
learn to be long-suffering with people just emerging 
from generations of sin and immorality, people who 
still find about them the quicksand of the old life wait- 
ing on every side to draw them under again. Although 
the missionary labors and prays incessantly in the 
midst of fields white unto the harvest, the tangible 
garnering of human souls proceeds so slowly that the 
missionary must realize with Dr. Luther Gulick that 
''winning the world is a campaign, not a skirmish." 

Some of the most trying personal problems of the 
missionary remain to be considered. His domestic life 
is one. The missionary shares his marriage plans with 
his mission board, for wives are missionaries, too, and 
their credentials are very properly looked into. Fur- 
thermore, raising a family on tlie mission field almost 
inevitablj^ means eventually a separation from chil 



GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 87 

(Iren, and perhaps from wife as well, when the time for 
American schooling- comes. Work in a foreign mis- 
sion has other drawbacks. One is that distance from 
the base of supplies, in connection wdth the shortage 
of w^orkers which practically always prevails, makes 
emergencies caused by illness, death, removal, or fur- 
lough always a serious concern, to the sudden effects 
of which one's plans are always exposed. A second 
is the increased health risk. Of the deaths among 
missionaries since 1890, sixty per cent* have been vic- 
tims of so-called preventable diseases against which 
they would have been largely shielded at home. A 
third handicap to life at the missionary front is found 
in the enforced intimacy of the members of the staff. 
One must get along with others day in and day out. 
Like a man quarantined in a boarding house, the mis- 
sionary finds himself inseparably linked wdth people 
not of his own choosing. Finally the missionary by 
the very nature of his position as a. leader, and as the 
representative of a civilization higher than that among 
which he lives, confronts various personal tempta- 
tions. A "dogmatic assertiveness" is apt to creep into 
his makeup ; formalism and professionalism must be 
guarded against ; and he faces a tremendous, incessant 
pressure toward the low^ering of his high standard to 
the point of becoming spiritually indolent and slothful. 
The lot of the missionary is indeed hard. There is 
no harder task. No man should undertake it without 
counting the cost, wathout realizing the frightful strain, 
physical, mental, and spiritual, which confronts him, 
and w^hich in a relatively few years overseas is apt to 



*Findings of the Medical Conference of the World Missionary 
Conference, Edinburgh, 1910, reprinted by Lambuth, Walter R., in 
''Medical Missions," Student Volunteer Movement, New York City, 
1920, p. 230, 



88 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

make of him a veteran of the cross, and always makes 
of him the supreme example of Christian heroism. 

Satisfactions. The path of the foreign missionary is 
beset with obsta.cles; but alongside of every obstacle 
he finds compensation, for in religious work satisfac- 
tions always vary directly with difficulties ; the greater 
the difficulty the higher the satisfaction. His work, 
therefore, is not only hardest but happiest. 

The real joys of the missionary, however, cannot be 
adequately expressed with pen, ink, and paper, and 
simple declarative sentences, and a one, two, three 
order. The written page cannot hold them. To labor 
in a wide field unhampered by sectarianism is worth 
something; freely to offer oneself and to be accepted 
and gradually to be built into the very structure of 
the life of a people, an essential part of its progress, 
is worth more ; to know and to have verified every day 
the fact that one's life work is placed at the heart of 
the need of the world, is to thrill with the life abund- 
ant. To clothe where men are most naked, to feed 
where men are most hungry, to teach where men are 
most ignorant, to sit by the side of men most hope- 
lessly ill in spirit and soul and to nurse them into spir- 
itual health until they grow strong and rise up and go 
forth and in their turn become angels of light, to be 
the channel through w^hich God's unspeakable gifts 
are brought into the lives of individuals and com- 
munities, redeeming them with life and love, — this is 
satisfa.ction beyond comparison. 

The pages of missionary biography, if they be read 
well between the lines, abound in the compensations 
and joys of the missionarj^ We recall Dr. Albert L. 



GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 89 

Shelton, that veteran of Tibet, who was captured and 
lield for ransom for many, many days. Although des- 
perately ill he had been heartlessly drag-ged about 
from hiding-place to hiding-place until finally he was 
abandoned by his captors to die. He chanced to be 
found by a Christian official. The official knew of Dr. 
Shelton 's work. Having gained strength, with the aid 
of this man. Dr. Shelton started for the coast. In 
every village he found people who knew of him and 
his work. The news of his liberation went before him. 
He came to Christian villages with which he had no 
personal acquaintance, but where he learned that daily 
for many weeks prayers had gone up for his safety. 
As the weary, footsore missionary hurried on he met 
whole villages which had come out en masse to greet 
him with tears of rejoicing and hymns of praise. Near- 
ing the coast he met another heart-glad group, in- 
cluding representatives of governments and rulers ; 
and, as the daily press flashed out the message, these 
shared with thousands of Christians the world around 
the good news of his safe deliverance. When he 
reached America, and on every occasion of his app'ear- 
ance since, he has received the respect and love of 
grateful Christians anxious to shower upon him marks 
of their esteem. 

Truly such tributes, in which all foreign missionaries 
share, while only feeble forerunners of the higher 
commendation of conscience which God surely grants 
to the good and faithful servant, must bring to the 
missionary soldier, home from overseas, genuine satis- 
faction and joy. 

Desirable Qualities. Grace, grit, and gumption, plus 
health enough for an insurance policy, and brains 



90 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

enoii«h for a colleoe diploma, are, accordiii": to Dr. 
Jacob Chamberlain of India, the essential personal 
qualifications for the foreign missionary. The ampli- 
fication of this topic under the threefold head of 
physical, mental, and spiritual qualities is also sug- 
gested by some one else* when he proposes that the 
missionary must have '*a hard head, a soft heart, and 
a tough skin." 

In addition to sound health, which is imperative, a 
steady nerve, fearlessness, and common everyday 
physical courage are still not out of place at the mis- 
sionary front. Decision, complete self-control, bound- 
less energy, and an unquenchable spirit of enterprise 
and youthful venturesomeness which never grows old, 
are invaluable. An acceptable trio are political sa- 
gacity, fine tact, and good judgment ; Avhile broad- 
mindedness and a scientific spirit, Avhich cultivate 
the scholarly habits of modesty, caution, accuracy, ob- 
servation, and inductive method, are increasingly an 
asset. Indispensable for the general missionary is that 
elusive, perhaps inborn quality, probably the resultant 
of many blended traits, called leadership. 

Of desirable spiritual qualities an unshakable faith 
in God, in Jesus, in the Holj^ Spirit, in the Bible, and 
in prayer stands first. The mission field has no room 
for a doubting man, ''for a missionary ceases to be a 
missionary as soon as he doubts that he has a message 
that is eternal.'" Catholicity, sympathy, idealism, 
and a spirit of full surrender to and dependence upon 
God are all of great worth in the missionary; but the 
two qualities most essential are, first, such a passion 



*Report on Preparation of Educational Missionaries, Board of 
Missionary Preparation, New York City, 1917, p. 75. 

^De Forest, Rev. J. H., in "Call, Qualifications, and Preparation of 
Missionary Candidates," Student Volunteer Movement, 1906, p. 113. 



GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 91 

for preachinjr as would lead its possessor to agrree with 
John Scudder of India who, when his eyesight began 
to fail, could say, "I would sooner lose mj^ eyesight 
than my voice;"' and, second, that subtle fragrance 
of the great Christian soul, called spirituality, which 
not only keeps him sweet and fresh and winsome and 
strong, but permeates all the atmosphere round about 
him with peace ajid confidence. A missionary's ulti- 
mate effectiveness and power depend upon a spiritual 
endurance which enables him to live on and not famish 
in the heat and dust and scorching wind of the desert, 
having within him rivers of living water. Spirituality 
must be supreme. "Without it missionary work will 
be a wearisome grind ; with it, it will be liberty and 
the joy of a great service.''* 

Preparation. When Jane Thompson wrote from 
Kolhapur, ''I am so glad God sent me to India," she 
unconsciously illustrated, in her recognition of God's 
guiding hand, the first essential in the preparation of 
the foreign missionary. No one is prepared for over- 
seas missionary service until God has come into his 
life in such a real sense as to be sincerely felt to be his 
actual leader. The habit of every day acknowledging 
God's plan and guidance in every detail of one's life 
should be early formed. The mission board says to 
the candidate: "Know God!'' — and know him inti- 
mately in such a way as to have learned to take Him 
at His word. For this, no amount of college credit, no 
accumulation of missionary data, no reading of mis- 
sionary biography, however extensive, can take the 



U'^ranklin, .Tames H., '' Ministers of Meriv,"' Missionary Education 
Movement. 101 <i, p. 237. 

*Speer, R. E., in "fall, Qualifications, and Preparation of Mis- 
sionary Candidates," Student Volunteer Movement, 190G, p. 186. 



92 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

place. The missionary, it has been said, is, like the 
poet, born, not made ; yes, born again. 

The second command of the mission board is : 
''Know thy Bible!" It is to be read and reread; 
marked and remarked ; learned and relearned ; pon- 
dered and prayed over, and pondered and prayed over 
again. Educational psychologists these days are using 
the term "over-learning" to describe the wasteful sit- 
uation in school work where, in the course of certain 
complex exercises, pupils spend more time and drill 
on some one feature of a process than is required for 
its comparative learning. Not so with the Bible. For 
foreign missionary service, the Bible cannot be over- 
learned. 

''Know books!" is the third command of the candi- 
date secretary, by which is meant a broad college edu- 
cation, a requirement which the varied work of the 
missionary and the comprehensive programme of 
modern missions amply justify, for both the enterprise 
and the non-Christian world which it embraces grow 
increasingly complex. While every course offered in 
a modern college might conceivably find use in the 
hands of the missionary worker, especial value at- 
taches to the study of natural science, languages, his- 
tory, philosophy, sociology, comparative religions, in- 
ternational law, economics, psychology, and hygiene. 
All this in addition to the later more mature study 
of Christian theology, which most mission boards con- 
sider essential for the general ordained missionary. 

Yet one more requirement must the candidate face : 
"Know the science of missions in general and the 
problems of your own field in particular!" This means 
that both in school and out of school, through inde- 



GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 93 

pendent study, the missionary candidate should ac- 
quaint himself with the history, methods, and policies 
of the Christian missionary undertaking-, and that he 
should absorb all that lie can about the geography, 
history, literature, traditions, religions, and present 
needs of the people to whom he expects to be sent. 
Beyond the four years in high school, this preparation 
represents four years in college and at least three 
years in the theological seminary. The present rec- 
ommendation, presented by the Board of Missionary 
Preparation,* provides for a fourth year in the theo- 
logical seminary, or college of missions, or university 
centre, for the completion of special missionary train- 
ing as desirable in general for the ordained missionary. 
The general ordained missionary, representing prob- 
ably the broadest, most comprehensive vocation in the 
whole range of Christian service, requires the most 
comprehensive, thoroughgoing preparation. 

Statistics. ■»■ The total foreign staff in the non-Chris- 
tian world and Latin America is 10,474.' Of these men, 
ordained and unordained, number 4,122. Ordained 
men alone number 2,803. The distribution of the for- 
eign staff on the basis of the occupations presented in 
this part is not available. How many less than this 
last number of ordained missionaries are engaged in 
general evangelistic Avork cannot be estimated. The 
age at which missionaries go out varies greatly, as does 
also the length of service. In a study of age-distribu- 



*Report of a Conference on the Preparation of Ordained Mis- 
sionaries, held in New York, December, 1914, Board of Missionary 
Preparation, New York, N. Y., pp. 51, 52. 

tSee Appendix 2. 

^"Foreign Missions Year Book of North America, 1920," Foreign 
Missions Conference of North America, New York. 



!)4 KELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

tion of 1,101 missionaries on the field, five are foiiiul 
to be twenty-one years old, and two, seventy-seven ; 
the largest number at any age are fifty-six at the age 
of thirty-two, while the medium age is thirty-six. As 
to length of service, a study of 1,000 ex-missionaries 
shows that thirty-nine per cent of those engaged in 
evangelistic work remained for five years or less. Yet 
only five in one hundred positions are vacated a year, 
a five per cent ''labor turnover." 

Salaries. Salary allowances vary greatly among 
boards and for different countries. Missionaries 
everywhere receive a meagre competence, nothing 
more. The Protestant board which carries on the 
largest foreign work pays married missionaries in 
India and most of China a, basic salary of $1,300, in 
Central and South Africa, $1,400, in Europe, Japan, 
Korea, $1,500, the corresponding salaries for single 
missionaries being $900, $950, and $1,000. In main- 
taining separate establishments, single missionaries 
receive $100 additional. Married missionaries receive 
a salary increase after five years of $100, and $200 
more after ten years, with an added $100 after twenty- 
five years. Salary increase for single missionaries is 
one-half that of married missionaries. 

An allowance of $100 is made for each child up to 
and including the age of five; $150, six — fourteen; $200, 
fifteen — twenty-one, Avith $50 a year extra when the 
child is in college in the United States. While on fur- 
lough married missionaries receive $1,300, single mis- 
sionaries, $850, and the stated increases and allow- 
ances with, in addition, up to $30 a month for rent, if 
necessary. Upon retirement, missionaries of this board 



GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 95 

are cared for like retired ministers and widows of min- 
isters. These figures' may be taken to indicate some- 
thing of the financial compensations of all regular 
missionaries, in whatever type of work engaged. 

Calls/ At one time the evangelical Protestant 
boards of foreign missions were calling for no less than 
454 ordained general missionaries. Other calls will be 
indicated at the close of each chapter. 

II. Woman Evangelist 

Two things all Hindoos are said to agree upon are 
''the sanctity of the cow and the depravity of wo- 
man ; ' ' and half the women of the British Empire are 
Hindoo !* Fort}^ million women in India are confined 
in zenanas. Of twenty-six million widows, 335,000 
are under fifteen, more than a hundred thousand, under 
ten. The case of India may be accepted in general as 
typical of the treatment of women in non-Christian 
lands. Only Christianity offers womanhood respect, 
freedom, and enlightenment ; yet half a billion women 
and girls are still beyond the influence of the Christian 
church. This situation, because of the barriers of 
Oriental custom, affords a special challenge to the 
woman missionary. 

Programme. Woman's work for woman on the mis- 
sion field is hardly less varied than the work of the 
man. Aside from the woman physician, the nurse, and 
the teacher, to be considered later, the field of service 



^Taken from "Field News Letter," Methodist Episcopal Board of 
Foreign Missions, September, 1920. 

^Taken from the "Student Volunteer Movement Bulletin," January, 
1921. 

*Robinson, Charles Henry, "History of Christian Missions," 
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1915, p. 39. 



96 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

is great, particularly in India and the Moslem lands 
As in the case of the man, the work of the woman may 
combine different types at once, and it differs with 
localities and countries. As an example, consider the 
work of a single woman engaged in general evan- 
gelistic work in western India. She may be attached 
to a station situated in a city of perhaps 20,000 pop- 
ulation, which has on its compound two schools, an 
orphanage, and a hospital ; and a staff consisting of 
nine or ten foreign workers, including a woman phy- 
sician, a nurse, three single women teachers, and two 
men and their wives. She works in an area with a radius 
of perhaps fifty miles and with a population of 750,000. 
In addition to supervising the work of five village 
day-schools for girls, which she visits once or twice 
every month, she conducts open-air evangelistic meet- 
ings among the women of her district and calls upon 
the women of the zenanas. 

In all her work the woman missionary of this type 
depends much upon her Bible woman, an Indian, per- 
haps wife of an Indian pastor, herself a tried and true 
Christian with an eloquent, straightforward message 
for her sisters of India. In the course of a month, 
these two, going usually alone, may visit thirty dif- 
ferent villages, each, however, cut by caste groups into 
five or six hamlets, sometimes several miles apart. In 
the same time they make sixty or eighty zenana calls. 
Journeys away from the station for a month or longer 
are sometimes made, such long tours affording the 
workers the opportunity of witnessing for Jesus in 
villages where no missionary has ever been before. 

Day's Work. A day's programme would include a 
start before sunrise, for in India the middle-of-the-day 



GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 1)7 

sun must be avoided. Arriving by ox-cart at their 
destination, the two workers pitch their tent, estab- 
lishing a lieadquarters for the day. Within a radius 
of perhaps five miles they will work. They enter a 
hamlet to seek an opportunity, wherever one or two 
will listen, to tell the Christian story. Probably they 
stop at the public well, for here come women of the 
village to draw water. Several pause to catch the 
song which the Bible woman starts. Others gather 
about, placing their jars of water on the ground. Prob- 
ably a woman yonder is combing her hair ; another 
here is Avashing her babe ; but what matter ! for 
here are a score of women; and the eager evangelist, 
who has come to tell of the gift of God, and to give 
living water, seizes the opportunity, and tells with 
glowing face of Him who also once spoke to a woman 
by tlie well, saying, "Whosoever shall drink of the 
water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but * 
(it) * * shall become in him a well of Avater springing 
up into eternal life."* 

After this service among the untouchables, and one 
or two of a similar nature in different hamlets, with 
singing, Scripture reading, and testimony from both 
workers, they maj^ call at the door of a zenana. Some- 
times they are greeted with the unwelcome words, 
"You are not wanted here; we have our own religion 
as well as you." More often, however, they are cordi- 
ally received, especially in those communities where 
they are acquainted and where the influence of a mis- 
sion school has made itself felt. More than likely they 
are asked inside, or they may remain standing in the 
courtyard before the door. In either event the singing 

*John 4:14. 



98 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

soon atti'acts tlie neighbors, who in Oriental style flock 
in without ceremony. This first call may last thirty or 
forty minutes, and through it acquaintances are made 
and the way is opened for later visits. Thus the word 
is scattered among the women of the shadowed zenana 
as well as among the women at the Avell and in the 
street. By sundown the evangelist and her helper, 
having made probably five calls and spoken to indi- 
viduals and groups in five or six hamlets, turn home- 
ward in the confidence that the word shall not return 
void. 

Difficulties. In the main the woman missionary 
faces the same difficulties as the man. It may be that 
her responsibility is usually less, and that the burden 
of the undertaking in the large, therefore, does not 
bear so heavily upon her. On the other hand, because 
she is less rugged and robust and because she has a 
tendency to plunge conscientiously into her work be- 
yond the limit of her strength, climate, fatigue, and 
anxiety may prove to her especially trying. More- 
over, the depressing influence of sin and degradation, 
the pitifully slow results, the deadening monotony, the 
exile from the congenial social life of home, all these 
bear doubly hard upon the sensitive woman. 

Satisfactions. Yet for her, too, compensations are 
forever saving the day. If it is true that woman lives 
to serve, then she is most happy when she feels herself 
most needed ; and a,t the missionary front evidences of 
great need are never absent. If the lot of heathen 
men is bad, the lot of heathen women is worse. If 
the men are worth pioneering and fighting and 
dying for, then who better than Christian 



GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 99 

woman appreciates the worth to God and to hu- 
manity of a woman's soul? It is the mother- 
hood of a Christian nation tha.t-is-to-be which 
the woman missionary holds in her hand. At her 
knee she gathers heart-hungry little waifs of the Ori- 
ent whose clinging small fists find a way to her ma- 
ternal love; while she finds an answering love which 
is its own rew^ard when she throws the mantle of hope 
and life about eager girls and women, like that Indian 
w^oman who testified before an audience, saying, "I 
was a dead woman in my sins, but thanks to God, He 
has brought me again into life." 

Desirable Qualities. The desirable qualifications for 
the man fit the woman missionary, too. A true woman, 
full of love, gentle-voiced, refined, tactful, winning, 
and of dependable cheerfulness, is wanted for mis- 
sionary service in non-Christian lands. A strong phy- 
sique and the ability to live and work with others are 
of prime importance. Her preparation should consist 
of a full college course, with psychology, sociology, 
education, history, sciences, languages, English, or 
general literature, perhaps, as a major. A full course 
in a normal school or teachers' college would be con- 
sidered an equivalent. In addition she should have at 
least one year for special missionar}^ preparation, in- 
cluding such studies as the science and history of mis- 
sions and the religions of the world; and a thorough 
course in the Bible. Both groups of studies are offered 
by several mission colleges and seminaries. The rea- 
son for setting a high requirement is because to a large 
extent the work of the woman missionary is still very 
composite on the field, demanding broad and thorough 
preparation. However, the standards here as in all 



100 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

casos vary witli needs, with fields contemplated, and 
with the aj^e and experience of candidates. In large 
dejiree every application to a mission board is treated 
as an individual matter, and decided upon its own 
merits. 

Statistics. The number of unmarried women en- 
ji'a.g'ed in all forms of missionary work overseas and in 
Latin America as w^e write is 2,978. For general evan- 
<ielistic work the total calls of the boards for foreign 
missions for women are 342. 

The total number of missionaries' wives, themselves 
considered missionaries, is 3,372. All these figures, of 
course, change with the years. 

III. Missionary Home-maker 

The missionary wife may fill many positions. If on 
the field before marriage, she may afterward find her- 
self eventually, whatever' be her husband's work, con- 
tinuing more or less as evangelist, physician, teacher, 
matron, or nurse. Dr. Christine Iverson, who went 
out to Arabia a single woman, married Dr. Arthur Ben- 
nett ; and the two doctors, continuing their work, 
shared their labors side by side and together gave 
their lives.' If as bride she first goes to the field, in 
addition to her home she will gradually fit into other 
forms of service, sharing to that extent in the pro- 
gramme and routine, difficulties and joys, common to 
other workers. The particular work of the married 
woman missionary,' deserving especial mention, how- 
ever, is that of Christian home-making. 



^Franklin, James H., "Ministers of Mercy," Missionary Education 
Movement, 1919, Chapter 2. 

'^Occasionally, a mother, also, paying her own expenses, goes with 
son or (laughter to the field, as in the case of Mrs. Pennell, Op 
cir., p. 3. 



GENERAL ORDAINED MISSIONARY 101 

Prcgramme. Against the dark background of im- 
morality, polygamy, degradation of woman, and neg- 
lect of children, which the non-Christian world pre- 
sents, stands out the Christian home as a supreme mis- 
sionary agency. Not only is the missionar}^ bungalow, 
presided over by the wife, a refuge where the life of 
the mission compound with its chapel, kindergarten, 
school, and hospital activities centres for rest, renewal 
of strength, and inspiration; and not only is it many 
times a nest where splendid recruits for the missionary 
enterprise are reared ; but it is also a home-making 
laboratory where native neighbors come to learn, an 
experiment station for propagating wholesome, strong, 
family life around the earth. 

Routine. The routine of the composite vocation of 
home-making is familiar; but, in the case of the Chris- 
tian home-maker overseas, to such a list of activities 
as those suggested by Dr. Snedden' : the buying, pre- 
paring and serving of food, the buying, repairing and 
making of clothes, household care and upkeep, laun- 
dry, care of children, accounting, sick nursing, hous- 
ing and furnishing, adult sociability, and care of gar- 
den, in themselves offering increased problems in for- 
eign lands, must be added the husbanding of an always- 
slender income, keeping perpetual open house for 
weary missionaries, and, frequently, the tutoring of 
one's own children' in preparation for their coming to 
the high school and college in the homela,nd. This 
varied and essential occupation is one to tax to the ut- 
termost one's resources of physical strength, of ma- 



^Snedden, D., "Vocational Education," Macmillan Company, New 
York City, p. 240. 

^"Preparation of Women for Foreign Missionary Service," Bo^ird 
of Missionary Preparation, New York City, p. 10. 



102 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

nagerial ability, and of true, womanly, Christian 
character. 

Preparation. A broad college education and special 
training in such subjects as education, home-making, 
social service, and first aid cannot come amiss for the 
missionary married woman. However, calls to foreign 
service come many times on short notice. In such 
cases, a missionary spirit, a sense of responsibility, and 
an appreciation of her opportunity in the missionary 
programme will help her make up for the lack of a 
college degree by a wise use of the last months before 
sailing. On the field her first duty is to learn the lan- 
guage. Such a price is cheap to pay for the privilege 
which is to be hers. Next to the example of the cru- 
cified Lover of Men, the world needs most to have set 
before it a pattern of Christian home-life, for hu- 
manity will never be Christian until it is cradled in 
Christian homes. 



y 



CHAPTER yil 

MEDICAL MISSIONARY AND NURSE 

I Physician 

In the fight for the Orient the medical missionarj^ 
has rendered distinguished service. In hard and in 
far places, bristling with hostility and suspicion, he has 
established Christian outposts, and by living in spirit 
the life of the Great Phj^sician has conquered the good 
will of wide areas and prepared the way for church 
and school. The annals of medical missions show that 
in the advance in the East the Christian physician has 
indeed many times proved to be for Christianit}^ the 
passport and defence. 

It is the world's appalling need for physical healing 
which has made the Western doctor so effective an agent 
in the missionary enterprise. Without him, whole non- 
Christian populations, devastated by pestilence, fever, 
and tuberculosis, with countless blind, deformed, in- 
sane, and lepers, are Avholly at the mercy of a hopelessly 
incompetent heathen practitioner, who, without knowl- 
edge of anatom}^ of bone-setting, of antiseptic treat- 
ment, of contagion, of bacteriology, of anaesthetics, of 
hygiene, of nursing and dieting, without even a proper 
conception of cause and effect, is powerless to prevent 
endless suffering and the dying of people like flies. 

No wonder that the Western physician has made his 

103 



104 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Avay in tlie East, and that even Moslems and Hindoos 
have learned to respect and love him. Yet to-day a 
hundred million are still living in territory unoccupied 
by medical missions; while China, where the medical 
work is well advanced, has six hundred thousand people 
to ever}^ medical missionary.* 

Programme. The Christian doctor attempts a double 
cure : the healing of body and the healing of soul. He 
is as truly a missionary in spirit and in ultimate pur- 
pose as is the ordained evangelist. He is frequentl}^ 
an ordained man. In his relation to the mission he is 
considered a regular missionary, in full sympathy" with 
and sharing in the responsibility of the w^hole Christian 
enterprise. If evangelistic w^orkers are not available 
to visit the wards and to conduct daily services in the 
hospital, as well as to carry out follow-up work with 
the patients, he himself plans for religious services, in- 
cluding a short service of Scripture reading, testimony, 
and prayer at the opening of each day's work. The 
Great Commission is inscribed no less on the corner- 
stone of the mission hospital than of the mission chapel. 

Routine. However, while in principle the medical 
missionary is first missionary and second medical, in 
practice the medicine comes first. He does not preach, 
he heals; and instead of pews he faces packed wards 
and an overflow congregation of the afflicted exery day 
of the year. His actual round of work consists in 
diagnosing, treating, and operating. Set in a radius 
of perhaps a hundred miles, his hospital provides up- 
wards of a hundred beds and maintains two or three 



*Lambuth, Walter R., "Medical Missions," Student Volunteer 
Movement, New York City, 1920, p. 174. 



MEDICAL MISSIONARY AND NURSE 105 

dispensaries. In addition to a foreign-missionaiy nurse 
in charge of the hospital, he has a small native staff of 
helpers. With this equipment he may care for two 
thousand in-patients and forty thousand out-patients 
annualh\ In one daj^ he may be called upon to treat 
or operate upon a hundred to two hundred cases. In 
addition, he administers the affairs of the hospital and 
dispensaries; and, since it is the settled policy to train 
up as rapidh" as possible native physicians and nurses, 
he may, besides supervising and instructing his own 
staff of students and internes, be called upon to teach 
in a medical school, if one is conveniently located. It 
may be said in general that in every mission station of 
the world the medical missionary's opportunity for 
service is limited only b}" the hours of the day and his 
own endurance. 

One day a poor blind fellow by a simple operation 
has his sight restored; and the next week he returns 
to the hospital leading half a dozen other blind men. 
For miles and miles around, without regard to age, con- 
dition, or creed, the people come. When the physician 
sometimes goes a journeying to bring help to those who 
cannot come to him, he is certain to find everywhere 
those eager to testify to help and care received at the 
hospital. If his trip requires haste he seeks to avoid 
villages on the way, for every chance recognition, every 
pause by the road, may mean for him hours of delay, 
mired in a throng of human sufferers. If a great artist 
should paint a picture entitled, "The Christian Phy- 
sician at Work," no matter what country or what sea- 
son or what time of day its setting, the most appro- 
priate words to place beneath it would be these of 
Mark: "At even when the sun did set they brought 



106 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

unto Him all that were sick and them that were 
possessed with demons. And all the citij was (jdthercd 
together at the floor.''* 

Difficulties. The medical missionary ehares all the 
problems of the general missionary with emphasis upon 
two. One, which grows out of the limitless opportunity, 
has to do with the effective conservation of missionary 
energy. Place a strong man or w^oman with a sincere 
ideal of service, willing to be spent, in a field of end- 
less need and the result is apt to be overwork. That 
has been the result in medical missions. The three 
words most frequently met with in the closing chapters 
of the lives of the ministers of mercy are exhaustion — 
fever — early death. The other special trial for the 
Christian doctor is the slowness of spiritual results. 
After all, his chief task is an operation on the heart of 
his patients which shall transform lives. It is for this 
he endures hardships and spends so lavishly his youth, 
his strength, his blood. 

People so susceptible to the spread of disease and sin 
should respond quickly to the contagion of a life vividly 
and unmistakably Christian. But they do not. One 
reads in twenty pages a sketch of the stirring life of 
Theodore Leighton Pennell. The time from this mis- 
sionary's first arrival in India to his last triumphal 
march to Bannu is compressed into twenty minutes 
of reading; but that twenty minutes of reading repre- 
sents twenty years of grind and grim endeavor, of 
being misunderstood and misrepresented. That blinded 
Afghan who came saying, "0, Sahib, if you can give 
me some sight long enough to go and shoot my enemy, 



*Mark 1:32, 33. 



MEDICxVL MISSIONARY AND NURSE 107 

then I shall be satisfied to be blind all the rest of my 
life,"* may be taken as an example of the spirit per- 
vading all too many who come for aid, the awful dead- 
ness of whose souls causes the physician anxiety, heart- 
ache, and a continual gnawing consciousness of in- 
sufficiency. 

Satisfactions. In many cases the M. D. of the med- 
ical missionary has meant, Devoted unto Martyrdom; 
and in every case it means Doer of Mercy. It is in 
making this a true translation of his title that the mis- 
sionary physician finds his satisfaction. He has a joy- 
ous confidence in ultimate success because he knows that 
downright unselfish service in love for mankind can- 
not fail. After twenty-five years in Turkey, Dr. Fred 
Douglas Shepard said : " I came to bear witness to this, 
that God is love. And if, by my work or life, I have 
been able to show this to you, I have had my reward, 
and for it I thank God."' 

A second compensation comes through the opportuni- 
ties which his work as a physician gives for personal 
contacts with men. He does not deal with men en 
masse, but singly and under circumstances of intimacy 
and confidence. The preacher must travel from place 
to place to catch up with men, but the physician in 
one day at the hospital treats men who come from east, 
west, north, and south for miles and miles. Thus he 
becomes the most effective influence for permeating the 
whole country with Christian ideas and ideals. 

Finally, the Christian doctor in the Orient finds him- 
self by virtue of his knowledge and his proved integrity 
able to penetrate to a greater extent than any other 



*Franklin, James H., "Ministers of Mercy," Missionary Education 
Movement, New York City, 1919, p. 5. 
iQp. Cit., p. 5. 



108 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

missionary worker all barriers of caste and position, to 
win the respect and confidence of poor and rich, weak 
and powerful alike, and to become a leader of the people, 
a counsellor of rulers, a Christian statesman, and an 
international force. Not only has he transformed the 
spiritual lives of individuals by his ministry of love 
but he has been instrumental in shaping the policies 
of nations as well. 

The conversation' overheard between two rickshaw 
men in Nanking sometime ago, when Dr. Macklin, a 
veteran medical missionary, passed by, registers in a 
dozen words the place and the compensations of the 
medical missionary. 

"Who is that old gentleman?" 

''Don't you know him?" 

''No." 

"Why, that is Jesus Christ." 

Desirable Qualities and Preparation. The missionary 
qualities to be especially emphasized in the case of the 
medical missionary are, besides robust health and ab- 
sence of latent tendencies to physical or mental weak- 
ness, resourcefulness, wholesome optimism, level-head- 
edness, true humility, administrative ability, dignified 
geniality, and genuine sympath3\ He must prepare 
thoroughly, taking in addition to a college course of 
four 3^ears (in exceptional cases two years), four years' 
medical training, followed by at least one year post- 
graduate work in a general hospital.' He must go to 
the field well grounded in all that forms the basis of 
successful practice, medical and surgical. He must 



^Sloan, T. Dwight, ''Medical Advance Guard," Student Volunteer 
Movement, New York City, p. 9. 

^''Qualifications and Preparation of Medical Missionaries and 

Nurses," Board of Missionary Preparation, reprint, New York, 1918. 



MEDICAL MISSIONARY AND NURSE 109 

be familiar with laboratory technique. Diseases of the 
tropics he needs to study, and the disorders of the skin 
and eyes. He should qualify in psychopathy and even 
in dentistry and in filling prescriptions. It is very 
desirable for him to have a good knowledge of pre- 
ventive medicine, hygiene, and sanitation. The final 
step in the candidate's preparation should be the pass- 
ing of an examination given by State or other authority. 
In short, for overseas service, the physician requires 
better and more comprehensive preparation than for 
practice at home. 

Statistics. Medical missionaries number now nc 
less than 389 men and 168 women. In the study of a 
thousand missionaries above referred to, fort^^-eight 
per cent of the physicians were found to have served 
five A'ears or less. The boards are calling as we write 
for no less than two hundred men physicians and sur- 
geons and seventeen specialists; and for forty-seven 
women physicians. 

II Nurse 

The missionary nurse is essential to the success of 
the missionary physician. Her work is more humble 
but hardly less helpful; and the world's need for doc- 
tors signifies a world's need for nurses, especially when 
one is considering lands where, as in China, even a word 
for "nurse" is unknown.'' 

Programme. The nurse overseas engages in several 
kinds of work. She may be called upon to serve as 
visiting nurse, helping to guard communities from epi- 



iPowell, Alice M., "Nurse in the Mission Field," Student Volun- 
teer Movement, New York City, p. 6. 



no RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

demic, teaching hygiene and dietetics to the women of 
a neighborhood, or to do district, rural, school, or fac- 
tory nursing, or to supervise the dispensary of a hos- 
pital, or to act as X-ray or laboratory assistant, or to 
serve as anaBsthetist. More and more, however, the pri- 
mary duty of the American nurse is to act as hospital 
superintendent and to train and supervise native nurses. 
To whatever country she goes, and to w^hatever field, 
the profession offers her challenging opportunities for 
original, significant work. 

Difficulties. That missionary work is not a romance 
but a daily routine is probably most acutely realized by 
the nurse. Her responsibilities are unusually heavy 
and her annoyances unusually plentiful. The native 
nurses whom she is training and upon whom she must 
rely are wofully ignorant and slow to comprehend 
right medical methods, proving often unreliable. The 
people themselves, having no idea of hygiene, medicine, 
and care of the body, make exceedingly poor patients, 
taking internally external remedies, drinking in one 
gulp medicine intended to be taken in drops, and 
clandestinely eating all manner of outlandish things 
when they are, as likely as not, on a milk diet. The 
conscientious nurse is kept under a continual strain and 
tension. To make matters worse, she is probably forced 
by the shortage of workers to carry the load w^hich two 
foreign nurses should be sharing. This meatus long 
hours and scant rest. It is not surprising that a woman 
missionary of many years experience recently said, "I 
consider the work of the nurse the hardest job open to 
women on the foreign field. ' ' 



MEDICAL MISSIONARY AND NURSE 111 

Satisfactions. Yet the nurse's work is vital and 
satisfying. Her position is one rich in contacts and 
varied in opportunities for preaching Jesus Christ. It 
is with the touch of her hand that she preaches Him. 
Her sermons are lier cheery smiles, her patient care, 
her gentle voice and wa3's ; and the influence of her life 
she multiplies man}^ times through the native nurses-in- 
training to whom she is an elder sister and whom she 
trains in technique and inspires in spirit. 

Desirable Qualities. The qualifications of the for- 
eign missionary which need emphasis in the case of 
the nurse are, in addition to good health, unfailing 
cheerfulness, good staying qualities, firmness and de- 
cision, capacity to direct and to impart, ability to carry 
out orders, and the knack of neatness and orderliness. 
For her preparation the nurse should add to a four- 
year high-school course, as a minimum, a three-year 
nurses' training course, and one year in a school of 
missions, or its equivalent, for a study of missions and 
the Bible. The work of training nurses, of superin- 
tending hospitals, of giving as well as taking detailed 
orders, and the growing specialization of medical mis- 
sionary work increasingly call for thorough preparation 
for the nurse. 

Statistics. Nurses are not listed separately in the 
missionary census. There are probably about five hun- 
dred in foreign missionary service. The call is for two 
hundred and five. 



CHAPTER VIII 
EDUCATIONAL MISSIONARY 

When the missionary societies close their books and 
quit, leaving an independent national church in full 
possession of every field; and when ''non-Christian" 
shall have become obsolete, no small part of the credit 
shall belong to the Christian teacher. It is true that the 
evangelist establishes and sustains, and that the phy- 
sician opens fields and exemplifies the Christ life in 
healing; but it is also true that the teacher is indis- 
pensable for any complete Christianization of the world. 

Indeed, fundamentally, the whole missionary enter- 
prise is a matter of education. Preaching the gospel 
is an educational process. To convert a man means 
to bring him through a knowledge of God and into a 
personal experience which leads to changed motives^ 
attitudes y and behavior; and all these are the familiar 
terms of educational psychology. Conversion itself, 
therefore, on the human side, is a schooling proposition. 
Schools took root and grew naturally in the soil of the 
mission compound. 

Mission schools developed because they were needed 
to educate the Christian community and to train native 
helpers. They grew also because native schools, at the 
start almost wholly lacking, did not keep pace with 
the increasing readiness of the people for education. 
In the third place they grew because the missionary 
found his readiest approach to the people through the 

112 



EDUCATIONAL MISSIONARY 113 

children, and because he found that the schools in- 
creased the permanence of his evangelistic efforts. 
From primary and village schools developed boarding 
and high schools, which overflowed into colleges and 
universities. The need for preacher, and, later, for 
teachers, Bible women, and physicians gave rise to the 
professional schools. Christian missions have carried 
the torch of modern education to the ends of the earth, 
but ignorance is not yet dispelled. To-day in India 
onl}^ one man in sixteen, only one Chinaman in twenty, 
one woman of India in one hundred, and one Chinese 
woman in three thousand' can read. Truly non- 
Christian lands are hardly promising territory for 
book agents ! 

Programme. The task before educational missions 
now, in addition to aiding in establishing adequate 
schools in countries where they do not exist and in help- 
ing to improve, through effective example, the systems 
already existing, is largely to mobilize missionary re- 
sources to educate the Christian youth of the Orient; 
to equip them Avith the economic, social, religious, and 
professional training necessary to assure self-respecting, 
independent churches and an aggressive Christian lead- 
ership for the East; to provide them with the knowl- 
edges and skills, the Christian faith and spirit, to go 
forth and help lead the world to the feet of the Good 
Teacher. 

Brief mention of some of the broad problems which 
confront the Christian school in the East is essential to 
an understanding of the difficulties facing the individual 
teacher. In India, China, and Japan national systems 



^Taylor, A. W., ''Social Work of Christian Missions,'' Foreign 
Christian Missionary Society, Cincinnati, 1912, p. 163. 



114 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

of education, which dominate these countries, are 
rapidly developing. Japan already has regulations 
which fall heavily upon all private schools. In Japan, 
the foreign teacher, even in mission schools, teaches only 
English and that onl}^ one or two hours a week to any 
one group.' Furthermore, even in mission schools, the 
amount of religious teaching is more or less regulated 
by government, compulsory teaching of religion beiiig 
entirely prohibited.'' In these Eastern countries the sit- 
uation is rapidly becoming one where educational mis- 
sions must accept a subordinate place. Competition 
with government schools, rapidly improving, amply 
financed, and largely attended, is out of the question. 

Indeed, with the introduction of vocational, indus- 
trial, and agricultural training, the mission boards are 
hard pressed to maintain their position in the front 
rank. The new ideal of industrial education of the 
masses for economic efficiency, essential everywhere, but 
especially among Eastern Christians, calls for expen- 
sive equipment and increased outlay. The one clear 
principle which emerges at this stage from the puzzling 
consideration of such questions as the continued use 
of English in the classroom, of the employment of non- 
Christian teachers, of the pros and cons of accepting 
government aid, and of the forthcoming question of co- 
education is the imperative need for co-operative effort 
by denominational mission boards. Only by a pooling 
of resources can mission schools of higher education 
with requisite standards and adequate equipment be 
maintained. Already in China and Korea there are no 
less than fifty union undertakings of which twenty-five 



^Report on Preparation of Educational Missionaries, Board of 
Missionary Preparation, 1916, p. 110. 
20p. 'Cit., p. 108. 



EDUCATIONAL MTSSTONxVRY 115 

are colleges and theological schools, and in which thirty- 
eight different missionarj^ societies co-operate.' 

Difficulties. In a field thus beset with problems it 
is not surprising that the foreign teacher himself faces 
difficulties of a large number, a very practical one being 
the lack of equipment. The erection and equipment of 
just one of a group of buildings of an American college 
of medium wealth cost more than all the buildings and 
equipment of Peking University." Another is the lack 
of free time, a disadvantage felt by all conscientious, 
whole-hearted teachers everywhere, no doubt, but espe- 
cially real to the missionary. The complete absorption 
of time and energy under the stress of daily duties and 
of continual contacts with students in class, on campus, 
and in home quarters, not to be avoided but rather 
sought for the work's sake, drains nervous energy and 
leaves no time for private study or coveted research. 

Then there is the problem of mastering the vernacular 
when the educational missionary teaches in schools 
where, as in India or Japan, the class-work, or his part 
in the class-work, calls for English. The students are 
apt to encourage his use of the English and natural in- 
clination may pull that way, too, but as a missionary 
his success in touching lives and transforming character 
awaits a thorough knowledge of the native tongue. 
Without that he cannot hope to enter the lives of the 
people nor can he hope to interpret their point of view. 
To understand the native point of view is perhaps the 
hardest problem of the foreign Christian teacher. He 
must not only put his words into their language but he 



^Dennett, Tyler, ''Missionary Schoolmaster," Joint Centenary 
Commission, Methodist Episcopal, 111 Fifth Avenue, New York Citv, 
p. 22. 

^Report on Preparation of Educational Missionaries, Board of 
Missionary Preparation, New York City, 1916, p. 81 



116 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

must put his ideas into their thoughts. He must re- 
gard racial as well as individual differences, the prob- 
lem varying«with types and conditions. There is the 
meditative Indian, the practical Chinaman, the sus- 
picious Turk, the poetical Latin, and there is the com- 
plex situation where conditions are heterogeneous and 
unsystematic, as in a case at Anatolia College in Tur- 
ke}^ where, of 120 students entering at one time, 113 
were irregular, having studied in Turkish, Armenian, 
Greek, Russian, French, and Protestant schools;' but 
in every field this task of understanding the pupil and 
beginning with him where he is taxes the teacher to the 
uttermost. Unless he somehow get inside the native 
and see out through his eyes, and pulsate with his heart- 
beats, the missionary teacher fails. 

Satisfactions. The teacher's compensations are not 
to be overlooked, however. In some respects, especially 
in comparison with the general evangelistic missionary, 
whose constituency shifts and who must itinerate much, 
the teacher works in connection with a comparatively 
permanent community, a communit}^ where he enjoys 
the bracing and congenial comradeship of facult^^ and 
students. In addition to the fact that the schools 
themselves are popular, the teacher enjoys throughout 
the Orient to a degree unknown in the West a respect 
and esteem which greatly enhances his more or less ex- 
tended influence with his students. Mission schools are 
largely responsible for the awakening of the East. 
Their graduates have become leaders of note and power. 
One mission school in Shanghai trained three of the 
leading Chinese diplomats of recent years. In India 

'Op. Cit., p. 101. 



EDUCATIONAL MISSIONARY 117 

the government is turning to the graduates of mission 
schools for leaders. To touch the lives of the most 
virile and high-charactered youth of the awakening 
East, at the time of greatest susceptibility, "while the 
clay is on the wheel," and in the relationship of great- 
est influence, that of teacher, is indeed an opportunity 
beyond price, resulting in this fine reward : that ' ' in 
living letters" his message goes forth to help remake 
the world. 

Desirable Qualities. The rewards of the teacher de- 
pend upon the teacher's spirit. He must above all else 
have the missionarj^ motive. To missionary patriotism, 
which means an irresistible passion to convert the world, 
every other quality must be subordinate in those who 
enlist for service in the missionary "expeditionary 
force." This point needs emphasis because the teacher 
is inclined to enjoy a sense of self-sufficiency with teach- 
ing in itself, especially in this age w^hich exalts social- 
ized education as the panacea for all ills. For the per- 
son who goes merely to teach there is no room on the 
missionary transport, because native schools and teach- 
ers are already on the field and growing more effective 
every day. The educational missionary must be more 
than a teacher. In the words of Barton, he is to be 
every inch and every moment a missionary. 

In addition to patience, adaptability, sense of humor, 
refinement, courtesy, self-control, and capacity for team- 
work, which may be called seven invariables for all mis- 
sionaries, the teacher should possess breadth of vision, 
keen insight, loyalty to truth, an appreciative attitude, 
seeing and appropriating the good wherever found, well- 
developed imaginative power, and a "sensible stub- 
bornness," which will prevent his skidding at once into 



]18 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

tlie old ruts at the first encounter with conservative 
leadership on the field. To count for most his must 
be a pervasive personality, that sum total of an attrac- 
tive, sociable, tactful, sympathetic, strong individuality. 
Of course, above all else he must be able to teach. He 
needs to be a good '^ conductor of ideas." 

Preparation. The preparation of the educational 
missionary depends somewhat upon the country to 
which he is to go and the position he is to fill. In de- 
tails it therefore varies widely, but in main outlines his 
studies can be suggested. He cannot hope to be found 
acceptable with less than a college course of four years 
and at least one year of specialized educational study. 
His general college course should include the following 
subjects^ : 

English literature. 

At least one modern language. 

A science with emphasis on scientific method. 

History. 

Sociology and economics. 

Biblical history and literature. 

English composition and public speaking. 

Psychology. 

Philosophy. 

Fundamental Christian principles. 
Among the professional subjects which are suggested 
for his year or more of specialization are the follow- 
ing': 

The philosophy of education. 

Educational psychology. 

Educational sociology. 



iQp. Cit., p. 216. 
20p. Cit., 217. 



EDUCATIONAL MISSIONARY 119 

The principles of teaching. 

Teaching' methods. 

Comparative educational methods. 

History of education with emphasis on super- 
vision, observation, and practice teaching. 

The principles and methods of religious educa- 
tion. 
During his period of graduate study the candidate 
should review his Biblical studies, and take advantage 
of every opportunity to inspect educational plants, 
studying their methods, equipment, and curricula. The 
movement is growing to consider the first term on the 
field and the first furlough as a part of the period of 
preparation. This will mean supervision of the five or 
seven years in service and the extension of the first 
furlough to include a year of graduate study leading, 
perhaps, to the A.M. or Ph. D. degree. 

Up to the present time the educational missionaries 
who have gone out for specific teaching positions have 
been comparatively few. Perhaps four-fifths of those 
occupying teaching positions have been general ordained 
missionaries, called after two to five years' experience 
in evangelistic work'. Many missionaries preach and 
teach at the same time. This condition is rapidly chang- 
ing. At the present time, while the majority of all the 
teachers in mission schools are native, the tendency to- 
ward specialization is creating a demand for educational 
specialists. What has been said about the work, the 
problems and compensations, the qualifications and pre- 
paration, of the educational missionary will in general 
apply to each of the following types of worker : board- 
ing and high-school teachers and principles, college and 



^Estimate of Dr. S. J. Corey, op. cit., p. 209. 



120 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

university instructors, professors in professional 
schools, industrial-school teachers, school superintend- 
ents, matrons, elementary-school teachers and super- 
visors and kindergartners. 

Statistics. The total educational calls are, men, 
290; women, 365. The study of one thousand ex-mis- 
sionaries indicated that fifty-four per cent of educa- 
tional missionaries served five years or less, due partly 
no doubt to short terms. 



CHAPTER IX 
OTHER MISSIONARY SPECIALISTS 

The call for teachers described in the last chapter 
indicates the extent to which the era of specialization 
has reached the mission field. Boards are faced with 
the necessity of providing workers who have attained 
proficiency in other lines than theology and medicine. 
This need varies wdth countries and with localities. 
Fields ready for one type of specialization may not yet 
demand others. Especially, however, where large 
groups of missionaries are associated economy of effort 
and efficiency of result more and more require that 
certain men be set apart for specialized work. 

This demand gains ground not without the opposi- 
tion of some who, believing that it is not special training 
but native ability that counts, labor under the impres- 
sion that a specialist is one of narrow training whose 
expertness in one line will not make up for his ignorance 
and insufficiency in the broader equipment of large 
vision, many-sided interests, and ready adaptability 
which the world-wide enterprise of missions must al- 
ways require of its recruits. The mission boards real- 
ize the importance of natural capacity and of broad 
education as a basis for specialization, and are careful 
to see to it that on the mission field the specialist shall 
always be a "broad man sharpened to a point." 

From replies received from 143 missionaries on the 
field to questions as to the present lack of w^orkers with 

121 



122 RELIGIOUS VOCATIOXS 

specialized training" and as to what kinds of special 
training are most needed, the Board of Missionary 
Preparation recently prepared a list containing fifty 
types of workers. In addition, teachers for ten dif- 
ferent subjects were mentioned.' Industrial workers, 
teachers of science, Sunday-school specialists, general 
social-service workers, association secretaries, and busi- 
ness managers were mentioned most frequently. Some 
of the more unusual needs, appearing at least once in 
the list, were for a university-extension worker, a den- 
tist, an optician, an alienist, a music-teacher, a city 
evangelistic Avorker, a specialist in phonetics, a sanita- 
tion expert, an institutional church worker, a Boy Scout 
worker, a statistician, a specialist in international law, 
and a journalist. To meet the needs which this study 
reveals will require that mission stations inform their 
boards of their needs long enough in advance to allow 
the boards time to select candidates and to make definite 
assignments long enough ahead to joermit the specialized 
training required. It further suggests the need of 
going more thoroughly into the special fitness of vol- 
unteers, together with the adoption of a policy of turn- 
ing over to other boards with vacancies those with 
special qualifications for whom no place exists. 

Difficulties and Satisfactions. The problems which 
confront the specialist on the field are those of all mis- 
sionaries, with one or two of his very own. To begin 
with, he may not alwaj^s find awaiting him the exact 
job for W'hich he has prepared. All missionary workers 
are more or less subject to emergency calls and shifts 
in position. These, while growing less frequent, are 



^"Specialized Training of Missionaries,'' Board of Missionary 
Preparation, New York, li)20, pp. 15-18. 



OTIIEH MI^SIOXAKV SPECIALISTS 123 

never to be wholly done away with; and they Avill al- 
ways hit hardest the specialist. Then, too, the work 
which he nndertakes, by the very nature of the case, 
is apt to be in an undeveloped state, affording many 
disappointments in the slow progress of his ambitious 
plans. He will also as a specialist be cut off from par- 
ticipation in the broader evangelistic Avork and from 
stimulating contact with it. Compensation for him, on 
the other hand, consists in concentrating and not scat- 
tering his effort, in doing a specific task well, and in 
feeling himself an effective part in the great missionary 
machine. If he have the spirit of the pioneer, he thrills 
in the unrestricted opportunities in his field for initiat- 
ing new projects significant for missions and for the 
world. 

Desirable Qualities. As in the case of the teacher, 
without the missionary spirit, regardless of his in- 
tellectual endowments, the specialist does more harm 
than good. He must be in Asia primarily for the glory 
of God. It is peculiarly important, also, that he have 
the ability to get along well with other people, because 
his work tends to set him apart, making friction and 
misunderstanding likely where there ought to be co- 
operation and mutual helpfulness ; for the specialist is 
in a very true sense the servant of the w^hole missionary 
community. Executive ability, the capacity to set 
others to work, is for him invaluable. Above all, he 
must be a practical man who can make the most of 
adverse circumstances. If he is a specialist, "strong in 
theory and weak in practice, effective only in the most 
favorable surroundings,"' he will surely fail. 



^' "Specialized Training of Missionaries,'' p. 63. 



124 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Preparation. As indicated in tlie last cliapter, the 
minimum general education for the specialist, except in 
certain cases of skilled helpers, should be four years, 
folloAved by a period varying in length for special pre- 
paration, supervised by the mission l)oard. The 
utilization of the first term and of the first furlough for 
further study is becoming increasingly desirable. What 
has been said so far applies in large measure to all 
specialists. It remains in concluding this survey of 
foreign-missionary workers to describe briefly the back- 
ground and the work of several of the increasingly 
significant t^'pes of specialist. 

I. The Agriculturist 

Christian evangelists, physicians, and teachers have 
preached, healed, and taught, to save the Orient ; and 
now^ to save the Orient Christian agriculturists are 
ploughing. In these days, when it is realized that the 
economics of a people must be taken into account as 
well as its health and its intellect, the redemption of 
the world presents a four-sided challenge, spiritual, 
social, intellectual, and economic ; and the importance 
of the last, especially in the backward, sub-productive 
non- Christian lands is just now claiming much atten- 
tion. If the first task of missions is to make Christians, 
the second is to make self-respecting and self-support- 
ing Christians. In the Orient, which is perhaps seven- 
ty-five per cent rural, where famine and Avant stalk 
in the w^ake of the methods of forty centuries, and w^here 
the church enrolls the poorest rather than the well-to- 
do, this means the teaching and demonstrating of mod- 
ern agriculture. As missionarj^ strategy this appears 



OTllEK MISSIONARY SPECIALISTS 12."^ 

to be, in the words of ^lott, "eomiiiir at the heart of 
the people by the most direet approaeh."' 

Programme. Tlie progrramme of the agriculturist 
centres in a demonstration farm where modern methods 
and modern equipment are put to work in the interest 
of biiTtrer, better crops and liner stock. This farm be- 
comes the hiboratory of an agricultural college to train 
farm specialists who go out as teachers and apostles of 
prosperity. At this centre are offered short courses 
for the farmers of the connnunity, who come for a few 
weeks during vslack seasons. From these centres work- 
ers go out to conduct farmers' institutes and demon- 
strations, and to distribute seeds. Courses are also of- 
fered for native teachers from A'iUage schools, who carry 
back the message of increased productivity and plenty. 
Xot the least etfect of the agricultural movement in the 
East, especially in India, is the new dignity of labor, 
which it preaches alike to high caste and low. 

All India has come to peer wide-eyed over the fence 
into the magic 275-acre farm of Sam Higginbottom at 
Allahabad, where, with a dormitory providing for 100 
students, and with sixty head of high-grade cattle, lifty 
oxen, seven silos. American machinery, and a great 
well for irrigation supplying a million gallons a day, he 
is demonstrating how "English seed planted in Indian 
soil by American methods ' * can increase the native yield 
of wheat from six to tifty-six bushels an acre. Thus 
does this new missionary specialist "interpret the 
Christian message in terms of agricultural welfare.'' 
The boards are calliuir for fortv airriculturists now. 



^From a letter to the International Association of Agricultural 
Missions, in session in Xew York Citv, December 7. 1920. 



126 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

II. The Social Engineer 

The East needs technical engineers to snrvey con- 
tinents, constrnct steel highways, span great rivers, 
and to modernize the life of half the world; but the 
East needs most of all Christian social engineers to con- 
struct through the heart of dense populations clean 
highways to God, to bridge the gulf of caste, and to 
Christianize the social life of races w^hich are just now 
falling pre}^ to the evils of an industrial age, evils w^hich 
in overtaking them add to the great moral havoc of non- 
Christian lands. In Japan from 1883 to 1916 the num- 
ber of factories increased from 125 with 15,000 oper- 
atives to 20,000 with a million operatives. In these fac- 
tories in 1914 there were 471,000 w^omen and children, 
tAventy-two per cent of the children being under four- 
teen.^ 

Programme. The work of the Christian social worker 
consists in making social surveys; in establishing settle- 
ments, which shall spread their roots into the life of 
communities through genuine, helpful service; and in 
training native social workers. The policy at present 
advocated is the establishment of a few strong centres, 
operated from the first with native partnership, and to 
make these demonstration and training centres. The 
best preparation for this worker, after a college course 
and a year of special social-religious education, is an 
apprenticeship in the slums at home, for the task in the 
foreign field is similar to the task at home, with greater 
need and greater opportunity. The foreign-missionary 
task, while not less a project of individual soul-saving, 



^Lambuth, Walter R., "Medical Missions," Student Volunteer 
Movement, New York, 1920, p. 167. 



OTHER MISSIONARY SPECIALISTS 127 

becomes more and more a complex undertaking for sav- 
ing the soul of society. Not fewer than twenty-five 
women and seven men are being called for social service. 

III. The Missionary Writer 

Although illiteracy is still high in non- Christian lands, 
the work of the schools is constantly increasing the size 
of the reading public. The native church-membership 
in the East, numbering upwards of six hundred thou- 
sand, and the upper classes in all the countries present 
a large and growing market for books and magazines. 
Books of apologetics, commentaries, sermons, books on 
the life of Christ, biographies, devotional books, works 
on reform, fiction with a Christian flavor, Sunday- 
school literature, and text-books are all needed in the 
mission field, not to mention periodicals, theological 
journals, and magazines and papers for women and 
children. In the press of missionary activities this field 
has developed out of all proportion to the means for 
meeting it; and anti-Christian literature flourishes 
amazingly. Growing literacy, the awakening of re- 
ligious and social consciousness, and the whetting of in- 
tellect, which missions themselves have done so much 
to hasten, create a challenge for literary work of large 
magnitude, and make the writer and editor an indis- 
pensable agent of the missionary enterprise. 

The work, embodying supervision of printing, pub- 
lishing, office-management, editorial supervision, proof- 
reading, examination of manuscripts, translation, and 
authorship, is open only to an experienced missionary, 
who is set apart for a limited period only, returning 
later to other fields of activity. Such a man is chosen 
because he possesses a readiness to appreciate and ap- 



128 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

propriate the good in other systems and in other people, 
because he understands the history, the life, and the 
needs of the people about him; because he exhibits no 
unkind spirit of attack in dealing with other religions 
and literatures; because of his high scholarship and 
linguistic ability; and, finally, because of his capacity 
to write, for above all he must have ''ink in the blood." 
Since no missionary recruit finds a literary position 
immediately waiting for him on the field, and probably 
no one ever will, a special preparation before going to 
the field is out of the question. However, while making 
the preparation for whatever other position he is to 
fill, the recruit who craves the opportunity in time of 
speaking the words of life through the printed page 
might well seek experience in a printing or publishing 
establishment in the home land, in writing for news- 
papers, in journalism and authorship. 

IV. The Business Manager 

An enterprise which has a pay-roll of eleven thousand 
foreign missionaries and a budget of thirty million dol- 
lars may well have need of capable business men who 
specialize in the business end of the enterprise. In ad- 
dition to the college and university business managers 
there is the mission treasurer and the business agent. 
The mission treasurer is the distributing agent for the 
funds from America. As a specialist in foreign ex- 
change and finance he becomes an invaluable adviser to 
missionaries; and to the efficiency and success of the 
business of missions his accuracy and his systematic 
methods are vital. 

The business agent, almost as essential, living usually 
at a seaport city, is the man Avho does what no one 



OTHER MISSIONARY SPECIALISTS 129 

else has time to do. He is the janitor of foreign mis- 
sions, keeping things generally in order. His work is 
varied and often annoying, calling for a large fund of 
miscellaneous knowledge, constant alertness, and busi- 
ness gumption. He does everything from reading time- 
tables, employing coolies, and dealing with government 
agents to ordering goods from Sears, Roebuck, and Com- 
pany, and shopping for a missionary's family. He is 
one of the men W. C. Willoughby must have had in 
mind when he wrote, "If you are -able to sweep a floor 
to the glory of God, why, you are the man we want ; and 
we want you badly." There are opportunities now for 
twent}^ business agents and treasurers. 

V. Skilled Helpers 

The present needs of the foreign-missionary organiza- 
tion afford also opportunities for the architect, the 
builder, the printer, the bookkeeper, and the steno- 
grapher. Until now these positions have been filled 
largely by the part-time employment of regular mission- 
aries. The work, the routine, the difficulties, the satis- 
factions, and the qualifications belonging to these types 
of service need no description. To the extent that the 
specialty predominates in each case there will be parallel- 
ism with similar positions at home ; to the extent that the 
missionary element predominates, the worker will share 
the joys and sorrows of other missionaries. The pre- 
paration of this group of specialists, with the possible 
exception of the architect, calls for a minimum general 
education of high-school grade, while the one prerequisite 
for every person sent out by any board at any time to 
any field for any work is a Christian faith and a mis- 
sionary spirit. Within the group of occupation here 



130 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

described are openings now for about twenty women 
and thirty-five men. 

In considering the extent to which this division of 
labor promises to go on the mission field, as well as in 
recalling the varied types of workers already enlisted in 
evangelism, medicine, education, and social service, one 
realizes that against a world need Christian missions 
offers a world programme. 

The outstanding problem of this world programme, 
affecting more or less every foreign worker everywhere, 
is the need for him to decrease while the native 
church increases. This condition which must be more 
and more faced by Western Christian w^orkers in the 
East is splendidly illustrated by an incident in the case 
of Japan. It has to do with the buying of Western 
street-cars. Bishop Tucker' tells how at first the Jap- 
anese, carried away with enthusiasm for everything 
Western, purchased electric tramways of the same 
dimensions as those used in America. These were very 
comfortable for the American missionaries, but the seats 
did not fit the short Japanese. This continued for a 
time, but now it is noticeable that the Western street- 
cars in Japan have lower, narrower seats. While they 
are less comfortable for the foreigner, they fit the 
Japanese exactly. Thus the Oriental is learning to 
adapt Western ideas. 

Another observation which may well be made before 
bringing this part to a close is to suggest that the ves- 
tibule to foreign-missionary work is a man 's own church 
and community at home. These pages have set forth a 
high standard, both as to personality and preparation, a 
standard which, while far more flexible than here ap- 



^Report of Conference on Preparation of Educational Missionaries, 
Board of Missionary Preparation, p. "112. 



OTHER MISSIONARY SPECIALISTS 131 

pears, should be more and more maintained. However, 
fundamentally the one indispensable characteristic for 
foreign service is a missionary spirit, and the one indis- 
pensable preparation is an apprenticeship which enables 
one to win souls. That is why candidate secretaries and 
experienced missionaries suggest that the best time and 
place to test one's native qualifications and to begin 
preparing is here and now. One can write his mission 
board, becoming acquainted with its departments and 
secretaries. He can begin reading the lives of the great 
heroes of missions. He can study the maps of the 
Orient. He can teach a Sunday-school class, lead an 
Endeavor society, lead in mission-study, volunteer foi 
Y. M. C. A. committee work, or undertake to help in a 
social settlement. Unless one can grip twelve-year-olds 
here how can he hope to grip them over there? Unless 
one can testify effectively in English here how can he 
hope to testify effectively in Chinese over there ? When 
Miss Amanda Jefferson, thirty years a missionary in 
Ratnagiri, India, was talking about her work, she said 
with a significant smile, "You know, I got my training 
for calling in the zenanas of India from my settlement 
work in New York City. ' ' 

Finally, one is impressed in studying the varied 
phases of the missionary programme by finding how 
similar is the task overseas to the task at home. This 
is especially true in the newer fields of educational 
specialization, agriculture, and social service, although 
it is also increasingly present in the work of the foreign 
minister and physician as well. After such a study 
one can sympathize with the growing tendency to erase 
the words ''foreign" and "home," to write in their 
place, "world-wide." Yet one realizes that from the 
point of view of the Avorker the ocean still pushes in 



/ 



132 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

between home base and mission field, and that the 
foreign missionary is foreign missionary still, as of old 
the most highly selected Christian worker, as well 
he may be, for he serves "the most powerful interna- 
tional and inter-racial constructive force that the world 
has ever known.'" 



iPisher, Galen M., "My Place in the World's Work," Student 
Volunteer Movement, p. 17. 



REFERENCES, PART II 133 



REFERENCES 

PART II 

General 

a. Moore, E. C, ' ' Expansion of Christianity in the Modern 

World," University of Chicago Press, 1919. 

b. Walsh, W. P., ' ' Modern Heroes of the Mission Field, ' ' Fleming 

H. Eevell Company, New York. 

c. Speer, E, E., "What Constitutes a Missionary Call?" Student 

Volunteer Movement, New York. 

d. World Eeconstruction Papers, Series 2, Student Volunteer 

Movement, New York. 

e. ' ' Call, Qualifications, Preparation, of Missionary Candidates, ' ' 

Student Volunteer Movement, New York, 1906. 

f . Murray, J., Lovell, ' ' World Friendship, Inc., ' ' Missionary 

Education Movement, New York, 1921. 

g. Harrington, C. K., "Captain Bickel of the Inland Seas," 

Fleming H. Eevell Company, New York. 

h. Waldo, Fullerton L., ' ' With Grenf ell on the Labrador, ' ' Flem- 
ing H. Eevell Company, New York, 1920. 

i. "Survey of the Effect of War upon Missions" (series), Inter- 
national Review of Missions, October, 1919, pp. 433-90. 

j. Baird, Annie, "Inside Views of Mission Life," Westminster 
Press, Philadelphia, 1913. 

k. Six pamphlets on preparation for special fields, (1) China, 
(2) India, (3) Japan, (4) Latin America, (5) Near East, 
(6) Pagan Africa, Board of Missionary Preparation, New 
York. 

1. Three pamphlets on the presentation of Christianity in (1) 
Confucian lands, (2) to Hindoos, and (3) to Moslems, 
Board of Missionary Preparation, New York. 



134 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Chapter VI 

m. Brown, A. J., " Kising Cliurclics in Non-Christian Lands, '^ 
Methodist Book Concern, 1915. 

n. Carvell, A. M., ' ' In Jungle Dejiths, ' ' London Eeligious Tract 
Society, 1919. 

0. ''Keport of the Conference on Preparation of Ordained Mis- 
sionaries," held in New York, Dec. 1, 2, 1914, Board of 
Missionary Preparation, New York. 

p. * ' Preparation of Women for Foreign-Missionary Service, ' ' 
Board of Missionary Preparation, New York. 

q. Piatt, Mary S., ''Home with the Open Door," Student Volun- 
teer Movement, New York, 1920. 

Chapter VII 

r. Lambuth, Walter E., ''Medical Missions," Student Volunteer 
Movement, New York, 1920. 

s. Franklin, James H., ' ' Ministers of Mercy, ' ' Missionary Edu- 
cation Movement, New York, 1919. 

t. ' ' Qualifications and Preparation of Medical Missionaries and 
Nurses," Board of Missionary Preparation, New- York. 

u. Weaver, E. W., ' ' Medicine as a Profession, ' ' Chapter XX, 
A. S. Barnes, New York, 1917. 

Chapter VIII 

V. Barton, James L., ' ' Educational Missions, ' ' Student Volun- 
teer Movement, New York, 1917. 

w. "Report of the Conference on Preparation of Educational 
Missionaries, ' ' held in New York, Dec. 4, 5, 1916, Board 
of Missionary Preparation, New York. 

Chapter IX 

X. Clough, John E., ' ' Social Christianity in the Orient, ' ' Mac- 

millan, Ncav York, 
y. ' ' Specialized Training of Missionaries, ' ' Board of Missionary 

Preparation, NeAV York. 
z. "Preparation of Missionaries for Literary Work," Board of 

Missionary Preparation, New York. 



ASSIGNMENTS, PART II 135 



ASSIGNMENTS 
PART II 

Chapter VI 

What foreign missionary do you know or have you heard? 

What has impressed you most about him (or her) ? 
The "svork of the general missionary is said to be the most 

comprehensive type of religious Avork. Why? 
Estimate the total annual income of a missionary family at 

the time it has been twenty years in service and the four 

children are respectively five, eight, twelve, and sixteen, the 

eldest having returned to the United States to live with an 

aunt and attend college. 
Use Paul to illustrate the work of the foreign missionary, 

applying the paragraph headings of this chapter as an 

outline for a study of his life. 
HoAV does missionary preparation for India differ from that 

for China? (See k.) 

Chapter VII 
Give illustrations from biography of the peculiar difficulties 
and satisfactions of the medical missionary. (See s.) 

Chapter VIII 

What reasons can you give for the use of English in higher 

education in the Orient? (See v.) 
What are hostels, and the work of those in charge of them? 

(See f, chapter, ''Gateway's to the Mind.") 
Outline in brief the vocational steps in the life of at least 

one notable missionary educator, (See f.) 

Chapter IX 

What type of specialized missionary work do you consider 
most permanent and promising? 



136 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

8. Outline the arguments raised against specialization, and 

refute them. 

9. Would you say that it is part of the missionary 's work to im- 

prove social conditions of a country? If so, how can he 
best achieve this end? (See f, chapter on social conditions.) 

In General 
* What do 3'ou consider woman's most important work in the 
foreign missionary enterprise? 
.10. Group the desirable qualifications for a foreign missionary 
under three heads such as essential, desirable, accessory. 
(See d, number 12.) 

11. Who should not go as missionaries? (See e.) 

12. Describe some unique imissionary vocations. (See h.) 

13. Interview a foreign missionary, seeking in your report to 

modify or amplify the information already available. 

14. Study and be prepared to advise the subject of case 1, of 

case 3, of case 6, of case 9. 

15. Select the chief difficulty and the chief desirable quality 

which are most nearly distinctive of each type of worker 
considered. 
IG. For a special project for Part II, see Appendix 3. 



PAKT III 

THE DEACONESS AND LAY 
WORKER 

' ' He carved his own way to his place 
of influence. You might put such a man 
anywhere, and his natural qualities 
would assert themselves. Patiently, in- 
dustriously, lovingly, he toiled for others. 
With splendid self-forgetfulness and 
with passionate devotion to his risen 
Lord he wrought and gave his life. 'He 
that loseth his own life shall find it unto 
life eternal. ' ' '* 



*George A. Warburton's tribute to Robert R. McBurney, a layman 
whose qualities may well be emulated by all religious workers. 

137 



' ' For even as Ave have many members 
in one body, and all the members have 
not the same office: so we who are many, 
are one body in Christ * * * and 
having gifts differing according to the 
.grace that Avas given us * * *" 

I will do my best, with Avhat I have, 
where I am, for Jesus Christ to-day. 



138 



CHAPTER X 
THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARY " 
I. The Y. W. C. A. 

Less than a century ago woman 's place was home ; 
to-day she is at home everywhere. This has come 
about gradually. At first her outside activities were 
counted on the fingers of one hand. An early record 
of the Young Women's Christian Association, estab- 
lished in Boston in 1866, enumerates sixteen callings 
followed by its members. To-day in commerce, in- 
dustry, and even the professions, women work in hun- 
dreds of vocations. The first co-educational college 
class was graduated at Oberlin in 1841. Now thou- 
sands of women enroll in colleges, universities, pro- 
fessional schools, and in music and art schools in the 
larger centres. Steadily woman has taken line after 
line of defence; and schools, offices, factories, cities, 
have fallen before the young woman's march upon the 
world. 

Mary Antin's wistful voyage overseas from Russia 
to the ''promised land," typical of many an immi- 
grant's experiences, is symbolic also of many hundreds 
and thousands of American girls who have made a no 
less fateful pilgrimage, no less fraught with hard- 
ships and heartaches, from the open country and the 
village and the town to the promised city. 

139 



140 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Programme. This situation gave birth to the Youn^ 
Women's Christian Association, which, historically 
speaking, entered the world very humbly through a 
boarding-house door. It emerged first in the busy, 
crowded city to meet the needs of homeless, self-sup- 
porting girls. This need it met with a home which was 
first of all Christian, for from the beginning until noAV 
its corner-stone has been "soul-winning and Christian 
character-building." But it soon became more than 
a home. While continuing to hold stanchly to the re- 
quirement that its voting membership must belong to 
evangelical churches, it early developed, in the face 
of a great need and a great response, a wide-open door 
to womanhood everywhere. Its programme to-day in- 
cludes the promotion of physical, social, mental, and 
spiritual growth through gymnasium, club, classes in 
academic, vocational, and practical arts, through 
Bible-study, devotional meetings, and practical Chris- 
tian service. It came to minister to the needs of the 
girls away from home, but because it stands for exalt- 
ing the individual girl as a girl, for affording whole- 
some social intercourse, for "tending human needs in 
a helpful human way," the Y. W. C. A. has remained 
to minister to all the needs of all the women of the 
whole community, and to become a strong, world-wide 
social force for the extension of the democracy of God. 

The general Association work is organized on the 
basis of city, county, student, and town units, above 
these being the regional and national administrative 
and departmental offices. The Student Associations in 
the colleges and universities, in close co-operation with 
the Student Y. M. C. A. and the Student Volunteer 
Movement, carry on the general programme, modified 
to meet student conditions. In addition to the reli- 



THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARY 141 

gious, social, physical, and mental, the phases of ac- 
tivity include employment, lod<i:ment, travellers' aid, 
girls' industrial, and social-service departments. In 
addition to national executives and field-secretaries, 
full-time departmental specialists in increasing num- 
bers carry on this varied enterprise. However, the 
general secretaryship of the normal city Association 
may be considered at the present time as the dominant 
Y. W. C. A. vocation. 

Routine. The "city general" leads a varied life. She 
attends and perhaps leads the daily staff devotional 
meeting. This staff consists of five to eight or more 
workers, according to the size of the Association, which 
for a city of a hundred and fifty thousand population 
has perhaps 2,500 members. During the morning she 
may confer with one or two members of her staff in- 
dividually. Probably she calls by appointment upon 
an influential member of the board. Every day or two 
she attends a committee meeting within the Associa- 
tion, and two or three times a week she may attend 
a committee meeting of outside agencies. Every week 
she presides at the regular staff meeting. Never a 
month passes without an invitation to address some 
civic, religious, or other organization. With personal 
and group conferences, with meetings inside and out- 
side the organization, her mornings, afternoons, and 
evenings will slip by, for she feels that she must in addi- 
tion be in evidence at every evening programme of the 
Association. 

Yet her work cannot be scheduled by the clock or by 
the day. Indeed, it is not the actual tasks which she 
shoulders that are really significant. The actual de- 
tail she shifts as much as possible, holding part of her 



142 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

work to consist in being always free for emerjjjencies, 
in order to be where most needed when needed most. 
Her big perpetual job is to permeate every inch of the 
premises and every heart of the membership with gen- 
uine friendliness, with democratic sociability, and with 
a real Christian spirit which seeks daily opportunity 
for personal religious service ; for she is both a com- 
munity hostess and a Christian evangelist. 

DiflBculties. The hardest problems which the gen- 
eral secretary faces grow out of the double basis of 
membership, which provides that, while all are to be 
admitted without restriction to associate membership, 
only members of those churches eligible to participa- 
tion in the Federal Council of Churches may vote or 
hold office. In meeting its responsibility to the com- 
munity, the Y. W. C. A. admits an increasing number 
of girls who are not eligible to voting membership. 

The general secretary bears the brunt of this em 
barrassing situation in at least three ways. In exem- 
plifying and emphasizing the Christian life and char- 
acter, which she must do in loyalty to the traditions 
and purposes of the Association, she is misunderstood, 
considered narrow, and shunned by the girls whom she 
most wishes to reach. When she goes into the com- 
munity, she finds a feeling of dissatisfaction on the 
ground that the Y. W. C. A. is undemocratic in deny- 
ing, a voice in its government to so many who belong 
to it and support it. On the other hand, when she 
goes out in a campaign for funds among the influential 
Christian supporters, she faces another criticism that 
the Y. W. C. A. has ceased to be a Christian institution 
because it serves those of other creeds and races ! 

Obstacles of a more personal nature confront the 



THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARY 143 

secretary as well. To keep herself wholly human, sym- 
pathetic, and approachable is not easy. To be de- 
pendent upon a volunteer leadership which can be 
built up only Avith great difficulty because of shifting 
membership is another trial. To prevent the growth 
of clique and class where freedom and preference in 
grouping is encouraged is not easy. Finally, the gen- 
eral secretary gives up to her work many opportuni- 
ties for outside social life, for concerts, for the society 
of men friends, which other young women enjoy, not 
to be passed over too lightly. Heading a Y. W. C. A. 
is not a vacation undertaking or a season's adventure. 
It is one of the exacting, purposeful life-work callings, 
demanding for success conviction, courage, and con- 
secration. 

Satisfactions. "That they might have life and that 
they might have it more abundantly," is the ambition 
of the Y. W. C. A. secretary for her girls. And they 
do. Under her eyes every day she sees them living 
the life more abundant. This is her compensation. 
The splendid response of the young womanhood of 
America to the open door of the Y. W. C. A. gives the 
secretary the opportunity to reach scores and hun- 
dreds of girls at the point of their greatest need. She 
has the joy of bringing together girls of different in- 
terests and attainments for their mutual advantage 
and for the gain of the social, economic, and spiritual 
democracy of to-morrow. 

As her Association builds itself into the life of the 
people and the institutions about it, and as she be- 
comes a respected and recognized leader of the woman- 
hood of the community, she enjoys the privilege of 
helping employers and employees understand each 



144 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

other, of influencing far-reaching betterment meas- 
ures, and of co-operating effectively with the churches. 
The secretaryship affords also through the facing of 
many needs, the initiating of large plans, and through 
many stimulating contacts great opportunity for per- 
sonal growth, thus again proving that compensations 
are commensurate with difficulties. 



Desirable Qualities. ''Idealism tempered with com- 
mon sense" is a very desirable qualification in the 
general secretary, as are also a delightful sense of Hu- 
mor and a practical sense of proportion. 

This last is necessary to keep her from getting tan- 
gled in red tape or lost in odds and ends of routine. 
She must possess the ability to organize and train 
workers about a work rather than followers about a 
leader. She who can design and construct an Asso- 
ciation programme and then slip out of the scheme 
without a collapse of the enterprise is the one needed 
in the Y. W. C. A. secretaryship. She must know how 
to make herself scaffolding and not keystone to the 
work. Serenity, of that kind which can face responsi- 
bility, threatened confusion, unexpected obstacles, and 
multiplying annoyances without a panic, but with ef- 
fective calm and with confidence — inspiring poise, is 
of paramount importance for the successful secretary. 
Such a, serene disposition finds its source in part from 
inherited sound nerves, in part from acquired habit 
of action, and in large part from constant and abund- 
ant spiritual anointing at the foot of the cross. The 
Y. W. C. A. secretaryship is a woman-size job which 
calls for unusual qualities of leadership and adapta- 
bility. 



THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARY 145 

Preparation. A college course or its equivalent and 
a professional Association training of one year in the 
national training-school or its equivalent are essential 
for the Y. W. C. A. secretary. Business experience as 
an employed person, working with other people in a 
capacity of leadership, is also regarded as a splendid 
asset. An equivalent to a college education would be 
a normal-school course supplemented by summer work 
at a university. An equivalent to the year in the train- 
ing-school would be actual successful work in Y. W. C. 
A. leadership, rounded out with extension courses and 
supervised apprenticeship. The courses given in the 
training-school in New York City include technical 
courses in the history, principles, and methods of Asso- 
ciation work, classes in the Bible, comparative reli- 
gions, sociology, and kindred subjects. The prom- 
inent position of the secretary in the community and 
the breadth of the national Y. W. C. A. programme, 
the growth of half a century of successful experience, 
demand trained leadership. 

Foreign Secretaryship. Overseas Association work 
is firmly planted, the scope of the movement being the 
same there as here. The policy always is to make the 
organization indigenous. Native volunteer leadership is 
developed. Self-support is encouraged. The foreign 
secretary is, therefore, one who must have large ca- 
pacity for adaptation, for allowing herself to be used 
for the carrying out of the plans of those among whom 
she works. There are calls for eighty overseas Y. W. 
C. A. secretaries. 

• 

Statistics. The twelve hundred Associations and ap- 
proximately five hundred fifty thousand members of the 



146 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Y. W. C. A. employ no fewer than four thousand sec- 
retaries, including a national staff of about four hun- 
dred. The ''city general '^ in a city of one hundred 
to two hundred thousand is paid between $1,800 and 
$2,500 a year. The Y. W. C. A. has openings for eight 
hundred to a thousand secretaries every year. 

II. The Y. M. C. A. 

"I beg your pardon, can you. vlirect me to the Y. M. 
C. A.?" strangers in town frequently ask; how fre- 
quently, would be worth knowing. Some present-day 
institutions people take for granted. The telephone is 
one; the post-office is one; another is the Young Men's 
Christian Association, which fits in so naturally and 
fills so useful and permanent a place in the community 
that one cannot imagine a city getting on without it. 
Yet this organization had its beginning less than 
eighty years ago in a little back room of a dry-goods 
house in London, its purpose meekly stated, "to im- 
prove the spiritual condition of young men engaged 
in the drapery and other trades." 

That first Y. M. C. A. was a fire kindled in the 
heart of a prairie. It spread because the world was 
waiting for it and because it made a successful appeal 
to the young man universal. This "high-class, far- 
sighted investment in the greatest undeveloped re- 
sources in the world — young men'' has had an open 
and a wide field, which it yet only begins to occupy. 
There are in the United States alone to-day, between 
the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine, no few^er than fif- 
teen million young men, every one of whom is a Y. 
M. C. A. prospect. 

Programme. To understand the spirit and purpose 



THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARY 147 

of the Y. M. C. A., one must turn back to its begin- 
nings, there to learn that it was prepared for by a 
young- man's zeal and success in personal soul-saving, 
that it found its earliest activity in prayer meetings 
and Bible-study, and that its first and permanent state- 
ment of principle declared that it "seeks to unite those 
young men who, regarding Jesus Christ as their God 
and Saviour, according to the Holy Scriptures, desire 
to be His disciples in their doctrine and in their life, 
and to associate their efforts for the extension of His 
kingdom among young men.'" Aggressive religious 
work and helping men to know and serve Jesus are the 
supreme mission from which the Association has never 
departed. The last request of Robert R. McBurney, 
thirty-six years general secretary of the New York City 
Y. M. C. A., whose life and work personify the secre- 
taryship, was that the only talks at his funeral might 
be to urge young men to personal work for leading men 
to Christ. The comprehensive, many-sided programme 
which in its endeavor to translate Christianity in terms 
of the whole man the Association has built up about the 
familiar triangle of body, mind, and spirit is but the 
necessary expansion when a prayer meeting attempts 
to put its arms around the young manhood of the 
world. 

Routine. A war poster described the Y. M. C. A. 
secretary as a well-rounded man, able to do a little of 
everything. This characterization evidently still ap- 
plies, because a list of 150 possible duties attributed to 
him by Paul Super' includes such items as lending 



^"The Paris Declaration," 1855, still the basis for active 
membership. 

^Super, Paul, "Training a Staff," Association Press, New York, 
1920, an excellent book. 



148 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

money, teaching games, operating soda-fountains, as- 
signing lockers, running movies, leading singing, hiring 
help, writing advertisements, balancing the cash, keep- 
ing abreast of the times, and learning people's names. 
However, when one realizes that the secretary may 
serve an Association having from one thousand to eight 
thousand members, with a staff of from six to thirty, 
more than four hundred Associations now employing a 
staff of four or more, one knows that the general secre- 
tary of the Y. M. C. A. is something more than a Jack 
of all trades. In order to conserve time and energy, 
he discriminates in values ; he organizes men, meas- 
ures, and methods ; he assigns and supervises work to 
develop his staff; he manages men, presides at meet- 
ings, inspires and shepherds his membership. His is an 
all-round job, predominantly executive in nature. 

Consider the general secretary of a city Association 
of about three thousand members, with a staff of per- 
haps fourteen. His day begins with the staff devo- 
tional meeting at nine. Correspondence and dictation 
come next, with several interruptions from members of 
the staff who come for individual help or advice. By 
noon he has made a tour of inspection of the building, 
accepted an invitation to speak in the near future at 
some gathering, has promised to attend a church-board 
meeting, which as a good churchman he cannot over- 
look; has made an engagement for luncheon with a 
business man whom he is a,ttempting to interest in the 
work of the Y. M. C. A., and has had half a dozen inter- 
views, ranging from one with a boy who comes with a 
letter of introduction asking his help to get a job, with 
whom he takes this opportunity of making a warm 
personal contact, to dealing with an irate youth who 



THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARY 149 

has lost something in the dormitory and threatens to 
sue the Association, and whose unfortunate experience 
of losing money or overcoat the secretary finds a way 
of turning to such unexpected account as to make a 
warm personal friend or a confessed follower of Christ. 
AVhen the executive gets back to the office from his 
engagement, he finds time for a confidential, heart-to- 
heart talk with a member of his staff who is discour- 
aged and failing in his work. Perhaps it is the day of 
the staff meeting, in which case he goes in to this pre- 
pared to attend closely to reports, amending, criticising, 
and commending ; to suggest and encourage new plans ; 
to weld into one united programme each man's sepa- 
rate undertaking ; and to send the men back to their 
tasks with fresh enthusiasm and deepened spiritual 
power. If this meeting ends in time, he perhaps gets 
into the gymnasium to finish off the day with volley- 
ball and a plunge, seeking the opportunity at once to 
mix with the men and to keep himself fit. The chances 
are more than even that he is kept at the office for the 
evening with committee meetings or other group gath- 
erings. He has a long, full day into which, holding 
back a reserve for any emergency, he puts much of 
brain and heart and personality. 

Difficulties. The matter of long hours is one of the 
problems of the Y. M. C. A. secretary. This "hard, 
every-day drudgery of persistent, constant living and 
working with men for men" requires more provision 
than it usually gets for the rest and the spiritual, men- 
tal, and physical replenishing without which a man 
cannot keep at his best. Another constant source of 
anxiety is the staff meeting. To get men there on 
time, to avoid monotony and keep out of a rut, to hold 



150 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

discussion centred on main issues, to prevent the neces- 
sarily business-like tone of the meeting from crowding 
out altogether the note of inspiration ; in short, to make 
this weekly or bi-weekly gathering what it ought to 
be and must be, is very difficult. To be hedged about 
with a dozen or more paid helpers also has its disad- 
vantages for the general secretary. He is denied in 
large measure the stimulating and enriching personal 
contacts with the rank and file of men. Furthermore, 
the presence of a large staff presents another burden, 
tha,t of training others. Many times it is easier to do a 
piece of work one's self than to assign it and supervise 
its being done by another, who may be only a novice. 
Finally, there is the financial problem to be faced. The 
local Y. M. C. A. is rarely if ever self-supporting. It 
must look to the community for from ten to twenty per 
cent of its funds. It is desirable to keep the member- 
ship-fee down, and to let the community share the 
financial burden ; but the one man who must bear the 
load of this marginal need is the general secretary. He 
must expect to face this along with the other draw- 
backs of the secretaryship. 

Satisfactions. It frequently happens that the same 
element in a situation may be to- one a hindrance and 
to another an incentive. The burden of training a 
staff and a volunteer leadership affords also the privi- 
lege of discovering and developing leaders of men. 
Mining men, who may be diamonds in the rough to 
become God's leaders, is one of the joys of the Y. M. 
C. A. secretary. It must not be forgotten, also, that in 
the present status of the Association movement, the 
local secretary holds an enviable position of respect 
and influence. The city of Cleveland was deadlocked 



THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARY 151 

in a great street-railway strike. Finally, arbitration 
being agreed upon, each side to the bitter controversy 
sought out independently a man to act as third member 
of the arbitration board. It turned out that both sides 
had sought the same man, and that man the general 
secretary of the local Y. M. C. A. Not only is the sec- 
retaryship a position of growing esteem, but it is in- 
creasingly, for the right man, a permanent career. In 
1919 there were no fewer than two hundred secretaries 
who had been from twenty-five to forty-five years in 
service. 

One of the supreme compensations for any secretary 
who has been long in service is in seeing boys and men 
grow into all-round stalwart Christian manhood. To 
thousands of young men the Y. M. C. A. is home, 
church, and school. These, mothered by the "Y," the 
secretary has a unique opportunity to father. To the 
general secretary there comes also an unusual oppor- 
tunity to study the relation of Christianity and the 
church to world problems. To a much grea,ter extent 
than the church the Y. M. C. A. is thrust out in mid- 
stream among the currents of human life, of political, 
economical, and industrial life. Finally, through his 
unusual range of activities and his unhampered local 
independence, the general secretary has an unlimited 
opportunity for personal growth and for executive and 
administrative achievement in the field of religious en- 
terprise. 

Desirable Qualities. The successful Y. M. C. A. sec- 
retary possesses the aggressive qualities of the salesman 
plus moral earnestness. He should look like a man. 
He should be friendly, whole-souled, catholic-spirited. 
He should be systematic and businesslike. He must 



152 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

have a capacity for growth ; he must be a team-worker ; 
and he must have what Paul Super calls ''the ability 
to attack and solve," which means initiative and re- 
sourcefulness. Above all, he must be thoroughly con- 
secrated to God, completely in love with men, and 
wholly committed to a Christian purpose. Otherwise 
he will not stick; he will not always put other men 
first and himself last, and he will not be what the gen- 
eral secretary of the Y. M. C. A. must always be "the 
man behind the men." 

The Staff. The staff of the normal-sized city Associ- 
ation includes secretaries who are specialists in the re- 
ligious, educational, physical, boys', industrial, social, 
and employment departments. In addition to these 
who are connected with the local organization the 
"staff" of the Y. M. C. A., speaking in a broad sense 
of the national work, includes also secretaries for 
county, army and navy, railroad, community, colored, 
foreign, and student departments. It was the Y, M. C. 
A. Student Association which fathered the Y. W. C. A. 
student work, which furnished the background and 
support for the launching of the Student Volunteer 
Movement, and which was largely instrumental in the 
organization of the AVorld's Student Christian Federa- 
tion. It is that college graduates frequently enter the 
general secretaryship through the student secretary- 
ship. Although it is impossible to discuss in detail the 
work of each of these specialists, three will be consid- 
ered. 

Religious-Work Secretary. The task of the religious- 
work specialist is to hold meetings of a predominantly 
religious tone on Sundays and other times in the Asso- 



THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARY 153 

elation building, in shops, in theatres, or in other 
places; to promote Bible classes, the reading of re- 
ligions literature, and personal soul-winning. He se- 
cures speakers, plans and advertises meetings, organizes 
gospel teams, leads prayer meetings, speaks in churches 
and co-operates with pastors, seeking to link young 
men with definite church-work. The weekly calendar 
may include as many as seventy-five Bible classes and 
fifty religious meetings. Since his work really expresses 
the soul of the Y. M. C. A. movement, he needs to 
possess, even more than the general secretary, if that is 
possible, a passion for soul-winning. 

Boys' Work Secretary. This secretary is an, expert 
in boyhood, relating the whole programme of the Y. 
M. C. A., with proper modifications and adaptations, to 
the boys of the community. This he does largely 
through the help of adult leaders and of older boys. 
The actual schedule of activities includes social events, 
games and meets, attended by both boys and parents, 
gymnasium classes, Bible classes, and religious meet- 
ings. The boys' work specialist must have the heart 
of a boy, the head of a man, and the ideals of Jesus 
Christ. 

Comity Secretary. The development of this type of 
worker is due to a realization on the part of the Y. M. 
C. A., which for fifty years centred its activities upon 
the youth of the cities, that the seven million young 
men not in cities also need mobilization for Christian 
purposes. The plan is to bring the programme of the 
Association home to men and boys in rural counties. 
Operating from the county-seat as headquarters, the 
secretary aims to have a local organization or com- 



154 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

mittee in each community, and through home, school, 
and church, through senior, high-school, and younger 
boys* groups, and with volunteer leadership, to pro- 
mote such activities a,s farmers' institutes, betterment 
campaigns, gospel teams, get-together events, athletic 
events, father-and-son banquets, a count}' convention 
annually, a boys' conference, and a summer camp. The 
special qualification for this worker is a sympathy with 
rural life and a knowledge of rural conditions. 

Preparation. "The secretary should have a good 
common-school education," said the Y. M. C. A. Year- 
Book for 1892. But times have changed. By 1896 the 
Association had observed that while only one-fourth of 
the physical directors and one-seventh of the secreta- 
ries were being trained in Association schools, fifty 
per cent more of these men were remaining in the work 
than of men not so trained, and their length of service 
was twice as long. Emphasis was more and more 
placed upon professional training. Today twenty-five 
per cent of the secretarial force are college men to 
begin with. It is also interesting to know that fifty 
per cent of all ''Y" officers employed come from busi- 
ness careers. In the Y. M. C. A., high school or college 
training plus business experience plus a professional 
course appears to be the road to success. 

There are two Association colleges. The Springfield 
college offers to high-school graduates a four years' 
course combining cultural and technical training. 
The Chicago college offers a three years' cul- 
tural and vocational course, which, for those 
who have graduated from the high school, leads 
to a diploma; for those who have had two 
years in college, a professional degree. By ar- 



THE ASSOCIATION SECRETARY 155 

rangement with the University of Chicago, high- 
school graduates are also offered a five years' course, 
leading to both a bachelor's degree from the univer- 
sity and a professional degree from the Association 
college. In both these Y. M. C. A. schools the technical 
courses include Association science and specialization 
in the various lines of departmental work, while the 
more general courses include the Bible, church, psy- 
chology, religious education, sociology, economics, bio- 
logical science, and physical activities. Both colleges 
offer two-year graduate courses for college graduates. 

Fellowship Plan. Other roads lead to the Y. M. C. 

A. secretaryship. Many local Associations have become 
''training-centres" where a two years' apprenticeship 
course is offered for both paid and volunteer workers 
to be trained and developed for Y. M. C. A. leadership. 
The general secretary becomes the teacher, leading a 
secretarial class which meets three times a week from 
September to June for the study of the organiza.tion, 
history, principles, and method of movement. The 
principal teaching, however, is done through assigning 
and supervising "projects." Mr. Super suggests, 
among others, the following samples in the course of 
the training of an office secretary: "Call up the direc- 
tors to notify them of a meeting " ; " Deal with a down- 
and-out visitor"; "Check the laundry in and out." 
College graduates who are interested in the Y. M. C. 
A. as a life-work are sometimes given "fellowships;" 
that is, they are assigned to a local Y. M. C. A. on a 
small salary to take this two-year course. 

The well-developed and effective facilities for train- 
ing leadership confirm one in the conviction, already 
formed by a consideration of the scope and significance 



156 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

of the movement in g-eneral and of the secretaryship in 
particular, that the Y. M. C. A. as a vocation requires 
not merely men, but fit men. 

Foreign Secretary. What has already been said 
about foreign Association work applies here. Y. M. C. 
A. centres are found throughout the world. There are 
opportunities for ''Y. M. C. A. missionaries" to carry 
out different phases of the Association programme 
everywhere. 

Statistics. The North American Y. M. C. A. has 
more than three-quarters of a million members, and 
more than sixteen hundred fully organized Associations. 
Its net property and funds paid equal $128,000,000.' 
The total number of employed officers, including all de- 
partments, is 5,511, including 312 temporary vacancies.'' 
For the ten years, 1909-1919, an average of 111 men 
were promoted from assistants to executive positions.^ 
The annual ^'turn-over" in the Y. M. C. A. secretary- 
ship is estimated by Mr. C. K. Ober to be about twenty 
per cent. The secretaryship is a permanent life-work, 
but it is permanent only for fit men, of whom there is 
an estima,ted need for fifteen hundred a year for the 
next ten years. The salary of a general city secretary 
of the type considered here varies between $3,500 and 
$6,000, averaging about $5,000. 



^Y. M. C. A. Year-Book, 1920, Association Press, New York, 
pp. 110, 111. 

^Ober, C. K., "Recruiting bj^ Interview," p. 7. 

^Ober, C. K., "Looking Ahead for Leaders," p. 5. 



CHAPTER XI 
THE FIELD-SECRETARY 

To such wise sayings as that ''man is incurably re- 
ligious, ' ' that ' ' man is a social animal, ' ' and that ' ' man 
is a born joiner" might be added this also: that man 
has a passion for organization. This tendency, which 
on the whole may be regarded as a mark of wholesome 
and effective growth and development, w^as never more 
pronounced in the field of religion than it is to-day. In 
considering the work of the "man higher up," in Chap- 
ter v., the reader has already been reminded of the ex- 
tent to which the denominational, interdenominational, 
local, State, national, and international work of the 
church is divided and systematized. There are literally 
scores of boards, departments, divisions, commissions, 
associations, and societies devoted to furthering various 
phases of the Christian programme. 

Definition. The leaders or executives of these move- 
ments, who are, generally speaking, clergymen, have 
already been taken into account; but there remains to 
be considered in connection with this type of activity 
a large group of workers, usually laymen, who are 
neither national executives nor local officials, and whose 
chief function is to travel and promote State and na- 
tional plans and standards among local organizations. 
This travelling salesman of spiritual goods, who sells 
and delivers in person, is increasingly known by the 
name of "field-secretary." There are many workers 

157 



158 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

whose functions of travelling promoter and of head- 
quarters executive are so evenly balanced that it is im- 
possible to place them. It may be well, therefore, to 
confine the present discussion rather specifically to those 
workers designated as ''field-worker," "travelling sec- 
retary," and ''departmental superintendent." 

Programme. It is at once evident that the pro- 
gramme to be promoted varies in each case. The Sun- 
day-school worker advances for his department the ac- 
tivities which his State association or denominational 
board has approved. The Y. W. C. A. field-secretary 
operates upon a different prospectus; the Y. M. C. A., 
upon another; the Student Volunteer Movement travel- 
ling secretary, another; the Pocket Testament League, 
another; and so it goes. Aside from these definite dis- 
tinctions as to measures and methods, however, inves- 
tigation discloses the fact that in the main, with re- 
gard to the routine, the difficulties and advantages, the 
desirable qualities and preparation, there are surprising 
similarity and uniformity among these workers. Never- 
theless, for the sake of concreteness, the State Christian 
Endeavor field-secretary is taken as an example; but 
what is here said will be found to apply to this type 
of worker in general. 

Christian Endeavor is an organization committed to 
the principle of pledged personal loyalty to Jesus 
Christ, manifesting itself through Bible-study, prayer, 
church attendance and support, generous giving, public 
testimony, and willing and consecrated Christian serv- 
ice. It fosters three kinds of societies. Junior, ages from 
seven to fourteen; Intermediate, ages from thirteen to 
nineteen; and Senior, ages eighteen and up. The ac- 
tivities of each society, carried on through many com- 



THE FIELD-SECRETARY 159 

mittees, find expression in weekly prayer meetings, 
monthh^ bnsiness meetings, and church and community 
undertakings. The organization emphasizes the de- 
sirability of bringing boys and girls, young men and 
women, together under wholesome conditions in mutual 
social and religious interests. The Christian Endeavor 
society is a laboratory for the training of Christian 
character where the '-project method," now universally 
favored, has been long and successfully in operation. 

As to special features, the United Society of Christian 
Endeavor maintains departments of the Quiet Hour, 
the Tenth Legion, Citizenship, Life-Work Recruits, and 
Alumni associations. It carries a stock of literature, 
and the national weekly is The Christian Endeavor 
World. From time to time campaigns are launched ex- 
tending over stated periods for the accomplishment of 
definite aims and setting up definite goals. 

The special movements within Christian Endeavor 
and the campaigns are not only carried directly to local 
societies, but are mediated through county and district 
unions, which it is a part of the general programme to 
perfect; and through county, district. State, provincial, 
and the international conventions. During forty years 
of continuous growth and increasing usefulness to the 
church, under the wise leadership of Dr. Francis E. 
Clark, founder and beloved president, Christian En- 
deavor has unfolded and perfected a many-sided, com- 
prehensive, unusually adaptable programme, the pro- 
motion of which may well challenge the ber:t efforts of 
the field-secretary. 

Routine. The actual schedule of work for the field- 
secretary varies with the size of the State and the ex- 
tent and degree of effectiveness of the existing organ- 



160 BELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

ization. He probably spends from seven to nine months 
in the field, travelling on an average about ten or fifteen 
thousand miles annually. While in the field in the 
course of a week he addresses evening audiences, conducts 
six or eight conferences, makes from ten to fifteen per- 
sonal calls upon leaders, and gives two or three high- 
school assembly talks. Perhaps twice during a month 
he occupies a pulpit on Sunday. During the entire 
year, in and out of the field, he averages from one hun- 
dred to two hundred letters a month, from three to six 
articles for publication, and from one to three addresses 
before denominational gatherings. 

Other activities which cannot be so easily tabulated 
include organizing societies wherever possible, present- 
ing Christian life-work personally at every opening, 
conferring frequently with State and district commit- 
tees, assisting often in drafting convention programmes, 
planning and promoting the State convention, pushing 
sales of literature at all times, arranging special tours 
for United Society officers or other leaders, and in many 
cases editing a State paper. It may be safely affirmed 
that the dust never settles on a Christian Endeavor field- 
secretary ! 

Difficulties. In such a calling difficulties fall thick 
and fast, the one which stands out most prominently 
being the so-called "indifference of pastors." Mr. R. 
A. Walker is perhaps right in suggesting that the fault 
here rests, at least in part, upon the field-worker, who 
has failed through wise propaganda and personal con- 
tact properly to cultivate the pastor. This shifts the 
responsibility somewhat, but the situation remains none 
the less an acute problem, demanding adroit, tactful. 



THE FIELD-SECRETARY IGl 

courteous, but persistent promotional tactics on the part 
of the field-secretary. 

A second obstacle, scarcely less formidable at the pres- 
ent time, one closely related to the first, finds expression 
rather vaguely as "misunderstanding of the scope and 
relation of the movement," or "failure of denomina- 
tional leaders to co-operate," or "lack of co-ordination." 
In the last anal3^sis Miss Cynthia Pearl Maus may be 
right in attributing this to "the overlapping and 
duplication" in the programmes of the young people's 
and the church-school movements. On the other hand, 
this "duplication" may prove more apparent than real. 
Perhaps a wise adjustment for mutual benefit and for 
the lasting good of the youth of the church may come 
about. In the meantime this whole perplexing, unsat- 
isfactory situation presents to all field-workers the very 
keen personal problem of being fair-minded, of cul- 
tivating the capacity to appreciate the good in other 
movements than one's own, the urgency for extended 
study and co-operation beyond one's immediate field, 
and, above all, the necessity of avoiding prejudiced, 
partisan, and antagonistic attitudes. 

Other annoyances must be mentioned briefiy. To 
push plans hard and yet to keep the whole enterprise 
secondary to the church rather than to allow it to be- 
come a substitute for the church, is at once difficult and 
necessary, for any special movement "comes to an end 
when it becomes an end in itself." The lack of young 
men, a difficulty true of the church at large, is fre- 
quently mentioned. Financing the movement without 
antagonizing the church is a more or less perpetual 
problem, and building balanced convention programmes 
of help and inspiration year after year is a rare achieve- 



3 62 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

merit. In addition to the present shortage of leaders 
a goodly erop of difficulties grows up in every separate 
field, and, finally, this general question of meeting the 
increasing absorption of young people with business and 
social activities, for in all his work with young men and 
young women the field-secretary must be prepared to 
face sharp outside competition. 

Satisfactions. Again it is true that out of the prob- 
lems themselves grow the compensations. At least one 
field-secretary has found his chief satisfaction in suc- 
cessfully relating the programme of his movements with 
the programme of the church at large. No other re- 
ligious worker whatever has so abundant and constant 
opportunity through his broad contacts with local fields 
and his influence through conventions and conferences 
to organize and vitalize religious and spiritual forces. 
He is in a position to render great service to pastors and 
other leaders in helping to solve local problems. Fur- 
thermore, there is among those with whom he works that 
spirit of youth which says, "To me all things are pos- 
sible," assuring an enthusiastic and ready responsive- 
ness, always gratifying and stimulating to the leader. 

The one greatest joy of the work, perhaps, is the 
privilege of influencing the life decisions of Christian 
youth. The field-secretary comes in contact with the 
most highly selected young persons, who are passing 
through the most susceptible, significant period of life; 
and he meets them under the most impressive, advan- 
tageous circumstances. Such situations, when not 
abused or exploited, but judiciously and cautiously taken 
full advantage of, result in the multiplication many 
times over of the life of the secretary in permanent 
Christian decisions and splendid Christi-an careers. The 



THE FIELD-SECRETARY 163 

outstanding glory of Christian Endeavor is its power 
to inspire lives of Christian service. 

Dr. Christine Iverson Bennett, the heroic medical 
missionary who went out to Basra, in a corner of the 
Sultan,'s domain, to give her love and life at ''the post 
of honor," had her first experience in Christian En- 
deavor in a little town in South Dakota. And she is 
one of a great multitude of others, ministers, foreign 
missionaries, and laymen, to whom Christian Endeavor 
proves the vestibule of Christian life-service. 

"Yes, I received my first vision of full-time Christian 
service at a Christian Endeavor Thanksgiving service." 
The speaker was Graham Wilson, executive secretary of 
the West Side Branch of the New York City Y. M. C. A., 
a man who to-day inspires and directs an organization 
with eight thousand members, which in one year obtains 
positions for three thousand men, gives educational 
instruction to more than four thousand, and provides 
religious services which have an annual attendance of 
more than a quarter of a million men. Such a life and 
influence as that of Graham Wilson is a good illustration 
of the magnified indirect returns which come from the 
life-investment of the worker who more than any other 
promotes such movements as Christian Endeavor. 

Desirable Qualities. In this, as in every field of reli- 
gious work, the first essential is a very definite religious 
experience on the part of the w^orker, and the possession 
of that subtle, pervasive attribute called spirituality. 
Another qualification which may be assumed is a fair 
degree of robust health. Clean habits in every particular 
are about equally indispensable. He should be likable, 
approachable, sociable, friendly, what Sterling Williams 
calls "a regular guy," appealing alike to men and 



164 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

women; but lie should be also discreet and well poised. 
He should not be flighty or superficial, but rather one 
who is able to concentrate on a continuous programme, 
to think things through, and to carry them out con- 
sistently. In just two words, the field-secretary, must 
have judicial enthusiasm. For one who travels on the 
most impossible schedules, and faces all sorts and con- 
ditions of circumstances, the field-worker who carries as 
part of his equipment a good sense of humor has a 
decided advantage, to which might be added cheerful- 
ness, resourcefulness, and the capacity for cultivating 
a habit of succeeding. 

Preparation. For any type of field-w^ork a college 
education is a wise foundation. In addition, in some 
cases, notably for workers in religious education, spe- 
cialized training is essential. In all cases practical church- 
work, with wide experience in volunteer activities, is 
indispensable. Many field- workers consider business expe- 
rience as a valuable asset; and, particularly in conser- 
vative communities, a theological course or at least 
Bible training increases one's usefulness and prestige. 
It goes without saying that one must know from personal 
contact every phase of the work with which one is 
to be associated. For the rest, frequent field- workers ' 
conferences, and annual conferences or conventions 
of the various movements in general, taken in connection 
with one's actual experiences in the work, furnish good 
means for continual growth and development. Success 
as a field-secretary probably depends more upon per- 
sonality and upon the favorable course of circumstances 
which open the w^ay for one than upon college diplomas. 

Statistics. In this field definite figures can hardly 



THE FIELD-SECRETARY 165 

be presented, because limits are ill defined. Ever}^ organ- 
ized activity of the church may, and probably does, 
employ "field-workers." Confining discussion to the 
two movements here considered, the Sunday-school and 
the Christian Endeavor, it may be estimated that those 
engaged in the promotional w^ork of the former, under 
the auspices of the different denominational boards and 
of the International Sunday-School Association, number 
about two hundred, of whom no fewer than forty per 
cent are women. At the present time salaries vary 
among the workers in the different divisions. They 
also, of course, vary as between State and denominational 
workers. There is a movement on foot now' which will 
probably result in an average salary for State Sunday- 
school workers of about $1,700 to $2,000. 

Christian Endeavor field-secretaries probably number 
not more than twenty-five. Perhaps ten per cent are 
women. Salaries for interdenominational State workers 
are between $1,200 and $3,000. 



^From an unpublished report of ''the Commission on Salaries," 
Mr. Walter A. Snow, chairman. 



CHAPTER XII 
THE DEACONESS 

"I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, who is a 
servant of the church that is at Cenchreae : * * * 
for she herself hath been a helper of manj^ and of mine 
own self," WTote Paul, thus furnishing the modern 
deaconess movement a clew to trace an ancient and 
honorable descent, and to find sanction in the practice of 
the primitive church. If in the earliest churches a need 
for a woman's work had already emerged, one can 
readily expect to find a greater opportunity and need 
in the present churches with their more than ten million 
women members, besides the small children of home 
and Sunday-school, and with their multiplied schools, 
societies, guilds, hospitals, and homes for young and 
aged. 

Yet the modern deaconess work is very modern indeed. 
Mrs. Lucy Rider Meyer, who was responsible for its 
beginning in the Methodist Church, gave up a position 
as instructor in the Moody Bible Institute in 1886 to 
start a denominational training-school for city, home, 
and foreign missionary workers. The following fall 
her students, who had become absorbed in the community 
work which had at first been assigned to them as part 
of their training-course, adopted a distinctive garb, 
and called themselves "deaconesses." The following 
year, 1888, the Conference took recognition of the 
movement, adopting it. The first Methodist deaconesses 

166 



THE DEACONESS 167 

received an allowance of two dollars a month, clothing, 
and living. In the spirit of Phoebe a ncAV vocation had 
been launched, destined to be "a helper of many." 

Types of Workers. The Episcopal, as well as the 
Lutheran, Church has also established deaconess work. 
In general, whatever be the denomination, the deaconess 
is "set apart by an appropriate religions service"; wears 
a distinctive, prescribed attire, and occupies a recognized 
ecclesiastical position, carrying with it certain regula- 
tions, standards, and subjection to stated authority. In 
other denominations, not recognizing or licensing 
deaconesses, there are young women carrjdng on what 
to a considerable extent may be termed deaconess activi- 
ties. These, Iniown by such names as ' ' parish worker, ' ' 
"pastor's assistant," "church visitor," "church assist- 
ant," "church secretary," and "social secretary," 
while probably constituting in general a less permanent 
and less seriously regarded type of vocation, are to be 
considered as included in the present stud}^ 

Programme. "To assist the minister in the care of 
the poor and sick, the religious training of the young and 
others, and the work of moral reformation, ' ' is, according 
to Canon 20 of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the 
duty of the deaconess. This applies primarily in the 
case of the parochial or local worker, who is usuall}^ 
responsible for club and guild meetings, for organizing 
the women of the congregation, for educational and 
relief work, for pastoral work among women, visiting, 
care of the church fabric, and the oversight of records. 
There is also, however, the institutional type of work, 
where the deaconess is in charge of orphanage, home, or 
hospital ; as well as the diocesan or national, where she 



168 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

takes the field in the interest of one or other of the 
women's organizations or in district educational super- 
vision. Wherever she is, this type of worker is dis- 
covering and raising up future leaders for the church; 
and, in the words of Deaconess Anna G. Newell, her 
continual concern is "to help the church function for 
the good of society. ' ' 

Routine. Consider the pastor's assistant in a city 
church of a thousand members. Probably five mornings 
a week she is at the church from ten to half past twelve, 
busy with conference and correspondence ; engaged in 
special tasks such as making a study of the church- 
membership, listing the number of vocations represented, 
telephoning to a dozen people, or sending personal notes 
of invitation to half a hundred friends of the church 
to a church dinner, or looking after odds and ends, as 
when a woman from another town writes the pastor 
for information about kindergartens for her little girl. 
The afternoons she spends for the most part in making 
calls on members, on absentees from Sunday-school and 
on many others, in addition to the sick. Perhaps she 
averages twenty-five calls a week. She spends at least 
three evenings each week at the church, and she attends 
no fewer than half a dozen society or other group meet- 
ings every week, always holding herself in readiness to 
play for the singing. There is on an average at least 
one supper a week in the church, at which she plays 
the part of assistant cook, assistant waitress, and assist- 
ant hostess all in one. 

Saturday she has a vacation, perhaps, before Sunday, 
which is her big day. On that day she is on duty 
practically from nine in the morning until ten at night. 
She teaches a class in Sunday-school, and attends the 



THE DEACONESS 169 

Endeavor meeting in the evening. At the morning and 
evening services she is no less busy or alert than the 
pastor himself. She preaches a constant sermon of 
cheerfulness, friendliness, and Christian sociability. 



Difficulties. Being the servant of a church has many 
trials, particularl}^ when that servant is a woman. In 
the first place, the restrictions of custom and conser- 
vatism, especially in some denominations, hampers a 
woman of force and initiative, who can gain recognition, 
influence, and cordial support only by slow and patient 
achievement. Then, again, she must try to please 
everybody; that means young and old, men and women, 
the warm and the cold, deacons and strangers. Only a 
miracle can prevent misunderstandings, hard feelings, 
gossipings, jealousies. It is not always easy to meet 
criticism with smiles, but she must do it. Another 
problem is to adapt one 's personal life, with its physical, 
mental, and spiritual needs, to the pressing demands of 
church-work, where each organization always zealously 
urges its claims for one 's support and help. 

Another set of disadvantages apply especially to the 
deaconess. One of these is the question of marriage. 
At least in the case of the Episcopal deaconess, with- 
drawal, even for marriage, while not in any way for- 
bidden, is by some regarded as a breach of faith. This 
sentiment does not apply to the Methodist deaconess. 
To the latter, on the other hand, belongs especially the 
problem of financial support, for she receives no salary 
at all, only a small allowance, which makes this vocation 
for the girl with dependents practically out of the ques- 
tion. To another distasteful feature, that of wearing 
a standardized garb, must be added this final drawback, 
that the deaconess, being always subject to authority, 



170 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

may find heself placed under the leadership of a diffi- 
cult and uncongenial pastor. She cannot always freely 
choose her place, nor can she move at will. She is 
constantly under orders either of the rector of the parish 
or of the bishop of the diocese. Her modern sister has 
many things to take into account before following in the 
steps of Phoebe. 

Satisfactions. In like manner as Phoebe, commended 
unto the Romans by Paul, no doubt found therein a 
legitimate satisfaction, so the deaconess worker of to-day 
finds her reward in the knowledge that in rendering 
service to the poor and needy, the sick and dying, she 
is re-enforcing the church. For her, opportunities for 
helpfulness never cease. When Elizabeth Moody, one 
of the earliest deaconesses in America, an aged veteran 
of the calling, was asked to state the greatest satisfac- 
tion which had come to her in her years of work, she 
smilingly replied, "I think it was just the continual 
daily round of usefulness." 

The compensations, of course, vary with the type of 
work one follows. The deaconess in institutional work, 
for example, finds her unique recompense in seeing boys 
and girls grow into strong manhood and womanhood. 
Who can measure the pride and joy which must come 
to Deaconess Judson when she recognized in the 
young couple who one day came to Lake Bluff Orphan- 
age a boy and a girl whom she had mothered in tliat same 
institution and who had now come back to adopt a baby 
and thus pass on to another generation still the teaching 
they had there received from her? The work of the 
parish visitor, to consider another case, is rich in life, 
contacts and experiences through which, if she have the 
benefit of a godl}^ pastor's guidance, she comes to under- 



THE DEACONESS 171 

stand life and to be equipped and furnished with the 
power and capacity to counsel, help, and inspire the 
young people who gradually learn to look to her for 
leadership. One thus uniformly busy at Christian tasks, 
as is the deaconess, comes to feel a sense of fellowship 
with the Saviour, and a harmony with His programme 
which is its own reward. 

Desirable Qualities. ''Do you smoke?" "Do you 
drink?" When a New York pastor propounded these 
as his first questions to a prospective church visitor he 
vvas illustrating the great range and diversity in those 
personal qualifications which in different times and 
places may require emphasis. It might be of interest 
to know that this minister's only concern for this new 
member of his staff was that she be just wholesome and 
natural, and that she develop a keen sense of humor. 
Perhaps the person engaged in deaconess work needs 
as much as anything a capacity for going more than 
half-way in meeting and befriending people. She ought 
to be big-minded, above all suspicion of pettiness. To 
tact and discretion add patience ; to patience, the ability 
both to co-operate and to lead ; and to this, self -discipline 
and control. As Miss Margaret Eckley, superintendent 
of the New York Methodist Episcopal Deaconess Asso- 
ciation whimsically puts it, the girl who hopes to make 
a successful deaconess "must have good eyesight for 
seeing things that need to be done. ' ' 

Preparation. Although there are exceptions, the 
standard requirement for a deaconess in both the Meth- 
odist and the Episcopal communions is a minimum of 
high-school training and two years in one of the train- 
ing-schools for deaconesses. These schools, in addition 



172 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

to courses on the Bible, the organization, doctrine, and 
history of the church, comparative religions, and mis- 
sions, offer specialized training in social service, religious 
education, and secretarial work. Field-work in parish, 
community, or hospital is usually a part of the curri- 
culum. In some cases, at least in the Methodist Church, 
a candidate may offer a nurse's training-course in an 
approved hospital in lieu of the regular training-school 
requirement. For the lay worker, preparing for some 
form of deaconess work, there is no standard require- 
ment. A high-school education, stenography, and instru- 
mental music, at least to a fair degree, she needs to have. 
A course of one or two years in a Bible college is invalu- 
able. In this field with merely makeshift preparation 
she cannot hope to make an adequate life-work for her- 
self. 

Statistics. Methodist and Episcopal deaconesses in 
the United States number no fewer than twelve hundred. 
The former receive twenty-five dollars a month and 
living. The latter receive approximately the same paj^ 
that other workers receive for the same services, which 
amounts for most pastor 's assistants, parish visitors, and 
church assistants to $800 to $1,200 a year, full time. The 
number of young w^omen engaged in this kind of work, 
other than the deaconesses referred to, is perhaps not 
less than fifteen hundred or two thousand. 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE TEACHER AND SINGER 

I. The Director of Religious Education 

Religion must be taught. Simply to have caught it no 
longer suffices. The conviction grows that the church 
must take the work of education seriously, that the Bible 
school must be no longer treated as a side-line, that to 
build Christian character is vital enough to be done well, 
and that no modern method is too good, no educational 
stazidard too high, to be employed in putting Christian 
ideals, motives, and habits in control of the growing 
powers of the youth of the land. This conviction awaits 
fulfillment among twenty million scholars in two hun- 
dred thousand church schools in the United States to- 
day. To whom may these look for the educational 
leadership of the church ? 

Programme. The answer to this question is, The direc- 
tor of religious education. This professional worker may 
be a clergyman, a deaconess, or a layman. He is not 
assistant pastor, church assistant, or all-round handy 
man. He is, on the contrary, a specialist who substitutes 
scientific management for slack methods in an enterprise 
which until recently has been notoriously clumsy, 
amateurish, and ineffective. In general his work may 
be divided into the administrative and the promotional. 

173 



174 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Considering- tlie latter, he first of all co-oi)erates with 
the denominational office, adapting and putting through 
national programmes. Locally he co-operates with other 
church schools and with interdenominational agencies 
for union institutes and other union plans. Within his 
own community he influences, modifies, and correlates 
those agencies which bear on the life of his own school. 
Within his own church he controls and unifies all organi- 
zations which are educational. He keeps religious 
education foremost, and, in the words of Richardson. 
' ' he creates educational idealism. ' ' 

Within the church school the director is the chief 
administrative officer. He supervises aim, method, cur- 
riculum; he observes classes in session; he reorganizes 
departments ; he shifts teachers ; he standardizes enrol- 
ment and promotion; he maintains a balanced pro- 
gamme; he administers the school in such a way as to 
conserve time, interest, and energy. Yet he is not an 
autocrat. By introducing system and consistent purpose 
he rather substitutes law and order for arbitrariness. 
The director of religious education usually himself con- 
ducts the teacher-training class. Because this vocation 
is just finding itself, there is no routine into which 
the worker steps. 

Difficulties. The director of religious education has 
an unusually hard place to fill. The position would be 
a trial if for no other reason than that it is in a new field, 
lacking standards, recognition, and permanence. The 
director 's position will be what he makes it and nothing 
more. He has an unusually keen anxiety to succeed. 
Quick results are expected of him; but in the Avork of 
education results come slowly at best, slower still when 
one must depend upon teachers and officers who can only 



THE TEACHER AND SINGER 175 

gradually be brought up to the measure of the expert. 
His relation to the congregation and to the pastor is an 
uncertain quantit}^ The former, lacking informa- 
tion and knowledge, fails to support his efforts as it 
should; while the minister, although wholly unqualified 
to do so, may assume to dictate to him, or may insist 
upon using him in the capacity of assistant pastor. A 
far more serious problem than any of these has to do 
with the fact that the specialist in religious education 
has almost inevitably adopted a standard of values and 
a conception of religious training which brings him into 
conflict with .the conservatives of his constituency. For 
example, he is almost certain to believe that Christian 
living and not Christian creeds should be the centre of 
the curriculum ; and, holding that all of life is a part of 
the book of God's revelation, he may offer in his course 
of study a few pages less of the Bible and a few pages 
more of life than will suit some. Thus not only the new- 
ness of the work, and the ignorance of the church, and 
the slowness of results, but even the current changing 
tendencies in curriculum-making as well, add to the 
worries of the director of religious education. 

Compensations. So long, however, as the emphasis 
continues to shift to education as the sure foundation 
for bringing in the democracy of God among men, the 
satisfaction of the worker in the field of religious educa- 
tion must outweigh his difficulties. However thickly 
beset with problems he may be, he has always the joy of 
knowing that he is fighting at a strategic point in the 
Christian enterprise. He has large opportunity for 
constructively influencing social progress, both for mak- 
ing society Christian and for making Christianity social. 



176 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

He has the fine happiness of seeing ''youngsters blossom 
from short pants into Christian manhood, ' ' as Dr. Hugh 
Hartshorne puts it; and these products of the modern 
church school go forth not only stamped on the cover 
with the label "Christian," but with Christian motives 
and habits woven into the very fibre and muscle of 
their being. In short, there is no reward which may 
be claimed by any teacher of youth which this leader 
may not claim, with this addition : that, while public- 
school teachers are primarily concerned with imparting 
"tools," the religious educator specializes primarily in 
imparting character. 

Desirable Qualities. The successful director of 
religious education must be a rare personality. He needs 
to possess an unusual combination of qualities. He must 
have a genius for organization and for detail, while at 
the same time having a broad vision and a capacity for 
promoting not only organization but inspiration. He 
must be a good manager of people, both as individuals 
and in groups; for he is not a driver, but a leader. He 
must be able to get along with people; and at the same 
time he must be independent, and self-reliant enough 
to get along without people, too. He must not be 
inclined to be dictatorial or dogmatic or superficial or 
hast}^ Indeed, at one and the same time he must be 
diplomat, executive, and "consecrated, skilled, pro- 
phetic, contagious teacher."' 

Preparation. The leader in this area must have a 
college education plus. Although the field is wide and 
new and unorganized, the actual opportunities for this 



^Richardson, Norman E., ''Religious Education as a Vocation," 
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1920. 



THE TEACHER AND SINGER 177 

type of work are largely limited to the larger city 
churches, which are apt to place a premium upon 
adequate preparation. The Religious Education Asso- 
ciation recommends that he should have a graduate 
course leading to the A.M. degree. There are about 
fifty or more colleges in the United States now offering 
special courses in religious education of the kind deemed 
desirable. These include such general subjects as educa- 
tional psychology, the philosophy of education, super- 
vision of teaching, and such others as the histor}^ of 
Christian education, the theory of religious education, 
the organization and administration of the church 
school, curriculum-making, and practice or field-work. 
Such graduate work takes one year and probably two 
years. One who expects to step into the leadership of the 
present advance movement to make religious education 
real education and to pose as "the educational pastor" 
of a church must know what he is about. 

Statistics. The exact number of directors of religious 
education is not available. A recently published list 
contained the names of 131, of whom fifty-three were 
laymen, forty-seven ordained, and thirty-one were 
women. Others are entering this field rapidly, and this 
list is only partial, indicating in general the present 
situation. It is significant that among the calls of the 
mission boards are thirteen for Sunday-school specialists. 
The salary is about $3,000. 

II. The Mission-School Teacher 

"I was born in a little log cabin sixteen by eighteen 
feet in the hills of East Tennessee. * ^ * We had 
a large family, and we usually had company. * * * 
Sometimes, if we wanted to turn around, we w^ould 



178 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

almost have to go out and turn around, and then come 
back into the house. * * * My mother did not real- 
ize that I was a child. * * * She made a little old 
woman of me. * * * At the age of seven I began 
cooking * * * and took care of the babies. * * * 

''My father made moonshine whiskey. * * * y^Q 
drank from the time I can remember until I was sixteen. 
My mother left us when I was fourteen. I was house- 
keeper, sister, and mother * * * ^ sewing, cooking, 
washing, ironing, milking. * * * Father * =* * 
drank continually. Whenever there was a drunken 
crowd or frolic, he went and we girls went, too. 

"I heard of a Presbyterian school. * * * i bor- 
rowed ten dollars and went. * * * i stayed three 
and one-half years. * * * During vacations I 
worked in lumber-camps and a hotel. * * * Besides 
helping myself through school I kept one of my 
brothers in school. * * * i was offered a scholarship 
to go to college. But I decided that I ought to come 
home and try to give the other children in the community 
an opportunity to get an education. ' ' 

Prag^ramme. This extract from the "''Life of a 
Mountain Girl, Written by Herself,'" may fittingly 
serve as the background for the home-mission work, not 
only in the Southern mountains, but also among the 
Alaskans, negroes, Indians, and Mexicans, a work which 
employs physicians, nurses, matrons, and community 
workers as well as teachers. With certain definite 
modifications, what is here said of the latter worker 
may be taken in a general w^ay to include these other 
types of vocation also. 



^Published by the Woman's Board of Home Missions, Presbyterian 
Church in the U. S. A., New York. 



THE TEACHER AND SINGER 179 

The fiindainental polic}'- of the mission school is to 
reach the individual, and through the individual to 
reach the communit}- ; to give the individual a usefvd, 
Christian training in order through him to help develop 
a useful, Christian community. The schooling offered, 
therefore, is not calculated to educate one away from 
his own people, but to educate him for them, to inspire 
him with a Christian motive for service, and to send 
him forth an effective farmer, teacher, home-maker, 
industrial, or commercial worker. The courses of stud}^ 
are practical and vocational. In addition to principals, 
superintendents, rural supervisors, and general teachers 
of grade and high-school subjects, there are teachers 
specializing in such subjects as domestic science and 
arts, music, Bible, kindergartens, primary, industrial, 
gymnasium, physical education, manual training, and 
weaving. There are both boarding and day schools, in- 
cluding all grades from the kindergarten to the fourth 
3^ear of the high school. 

Routine. Take the life of an English teacher in 
a boarding-school which offers eight grades, beginning 
with the fourth and running through the fourth year 
of the high school. Perhaps there are 150 pupils. Her 
pupils come to her in groups of ten. Class hours are 
from nine to four. Out of school she takes girls on hikes 
and outings; in the evening she reads aloud, or superin- 
tendents "social evenings" with their games and pro- 
grammes ; or, if it be her turn, she superAdses the evening 
study-hour. For a month or two each school year she 
directs the weekly religious meeting, which may perhaps 
take the form of a Christian Endeavor society. She may 
live permanently or for a limited period in the "model 



180 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

cottage," the home where the girls in alternate groups 
come to reside six weeks for a life-demonstration of 
Christian home-making. Boarding-school life for this 
teacher, as for all others, is largely a continuous, com- 
munity affair. Her daily lesson plan must include the 
whole day and the whole school. In the teacher all 
activities largely centre. As Miss Mabel M. Sheibley 
expresses it, there is hardly an event, an inspiration, an 
undertaking, in which "there is not usually a teacher 
somewhere at the top or the bottom of it." 

Difficulties. One of the very greatest problems which 
the teacher faces is this constant demand upon her time 
and drain upon her nervous energy. Then too, mission- 
school life presents a steady routine without the relief 
of outside interests. There is monotony; there is hard 
work ; there is little leisure. She faces empty lives into 
whom she must be forever pouring herself without having 
at hand those fresh, stimulating contacts upon which to 
replenish her ow^n store. There are actual hardships, 
also, of a very real nature, to be endured in the out-of- 
the-way, poorly equipped mission-school. Think of the 
unpleasant situation of a school which, in the long rainy 
season, finds itself fairly set in the mud, where the 
teachers can not come down-stairs without wearing their 
rubbers ! 

Compensations. In teaching those w4io are in the 
greatest need of education, those who are the most eager 
to get it, and those who respond most quickly to it, the 
teacher finds her delight. She teaches not those who 
come grudgingly, forced, maybe, by a truancy law. No, 
her scholars are willing to mortgage their future to get 



THE TEACHER AND SINGER 181 

a chance to come, or, like one girl, to pick berries from 
morning till night, week in and ont, to pa}' her annnal 
tnition fee, perhaps seventy-five dollars. The teacher's 
inspiration comes in seeing these children, who come 
from almost nothing in home conditions develop so 
rapidly that the improvement can almost be seen from 
day to da}'. When a pnpil who came from a squalid hut 
goes back to make a Christian home ; when a youth, who 
earned his way through school, denies himself the oppor- 
tunity of a college scholarship in order to go back home 
to teach and to send others to school, the teacher realizes 
that she makes a better investment than the putting by 
of much money in the bank. She lays up capital in 
hearts and heads, live investments which go forth on 
swift feet to earn for her compound interest. 

Character and Training. In addition to the char- 
acteristics desirable in any teacher the worker in the 
mission-school needs an unlimited amount of consecra- 
tion, love of children, and adaptability. She must have 
a smile for the time when the plumbing goes wrong, 
when there is nothing but snow for a week, and when the 
well goes dry. Above everything else, she, too, must 
be a youngster in spirit and in sympathy. Any one 
possessing these qualifications and a normal-school or 
college diploma, or three or four years of successful 
teaching experience in addition to a high-school diploma, 
and who is a church-member, and brings a letter of 
recommendation from her pastor, may find a place 
waiting for her on the staff of a mission school. 

Statistics. Among the laymen sent out in the home 
field b}' the mission boards the teachers described in this 
section are perhaps {he predominant tj'pe of workers. 



182 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

There are probably no fewer than fifteen hundred young 
Avomen in such positions in the United States. Twentj'- 
two is about the average age of entering this vocation, 
and the salary is $450 to $600, with board and laundry. 
In this field the boards are calling for ninety-six women 
and six men. Other calls which may well be referred 
to at this point are for women to do evangelistic work, 
fifty -three ; nurses, forty-nine ; medical workers, seven ; 
and workers for special groups, not ordained workers, 
eleven women and twenty-six men. 

III. The Singing Evangelist 

A blind Scotsman once wrote a sermon which has 
never ceased being preached around the world over and 
over again. Countless thousands have repeated it. 
Multitudes love it. No one can estimate how many lives 
it has cheered, or how many souls it has warmed and 
strengthened. The man was George Matheson and his 
sermon a sermon in song, "0 Love that wilt not let 
me go." 

That music and religion are inseparable is indicated 
by the permanent and rich hymnology of the church. 
Music is the very breath of religion. Worship is not 
only an attitude of the will and an exercise of the intel- 
lect, but a feeling of the heart as well; and sacred song 
is one of God's swiftest messengers to the human heart. 
Scattered through the pages of a little booklet contain- 
ing testimonials from recent converts were found no 
fewer than eighteen quotations from standard hj-mns. 
Saved men have gospel songs woven into their hearts; 
and nobody knows how many souls are lifted heavenward 
on the gentle wings of persuasive song. Charles Alex- 
ander said that a song may be "a sermon on wheels." 



THE TEACHER AND SINGER 183 

Programme. The opiKirtiinity for full-time salaried 
workers in the field of church music, however, is not 
hirge. There are many organists, soloists, choristers, 
and singers who find part-time employment; but in the 
main the largest opening for religious work in music 
is that afforded w the vocation of "singing evangelist," 
])y which is meant one, ordinarily a layman, who co-op- 
erates with the evangelist in the conduct of revival 
meetings, assuming full responsibility for the music. 
For the present purpose a small number of pianists are 
assumed to be included. In general the singing evange- 
list's schedule will include the leading of the congrega- 
tional singing, the singing of solos at practically every 
service, and organizing and conducting a choir. He is 
also expected to enter heartily into the spirit and work 
of the meeting as a Avhole. Soul-wanning is his goal as 
much as it is that of the evangelist. During the meeting 
he makes calls and does personal work constantl}^ One 
should read in connection with this section, Part I, 
chapter IV. 

Problems and Satisfactions. The singing evangelist 
shares largeh^ in the fortunes and misfortunes of the 
evangelist. If he has a distinctive problem, it is, prob- 
ably, to face a certain lack of appreciation. He serves 
ahvaj^s in a subordinate position in relation to the 
evangelistic enterprise as a whole, and he must, there- 
fore, fit his plans into those of others. His unique 
compensation comes in the joy which he brings through 
song to saved and unsaved alike. He is ever helping 
people to "pack up their troubles" and to "brighten 
the corner where the}^ are." 



184 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Desirable Qualities. First of all, the singing evange- 
list must be humble rather than egotistic. He must be 
thoroughly Christian, willing to see himself decrease in 
order that the work may increase. He must have that 
truly missionary capacity for getting along well with 
others. He must be morally in earnest, not easily 
offended, and not given to stunts and slang. As Mr. 
W. E. M. Hackleman phrases it, "he must be in the w^ork 
because he can't be happy out of it," and not to exhibit 
his own good voice, which he is assumed to possess, or 
to make money, or to sell books. 

Preparation. If the candidate is not a college grad- 
uate, and intends to enter this calling as a life-work, he 
should at least have a year or two of a religious worker 's 
course in a good Bible college. Personal work and general 
contacts make this desirable. His special musical train- 
ing should include in addition to voice-culture musical 
theory, composition, conducting, and hymnology. The 
Interdenominational Association of Evangelists admits 
singing evangelists and pianists to membership, the 
requirement for admission being at least two years of 
actual work and at least twenty lessons in voice from a 
competent teacher. 

Statistics. Probably no few^er than two hundred 
persons are employed more or less regularly as singing 
evangelists in the United States. Of these about twenty 
per cent are women. The income varies from $1,500 to 
$3,000 a year. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

TPIE SOCIAL-RELIGIOUS WORKER 

The American city, which now shelters more than half 
the total population of the United States, presents a 
complex, difficult problem. It possesses both the best 
and the worst elements of civilization. Its schools, 
churches, libraries, hospitals, art, literature, music, 
parks, avenues, buildings, refined societ}^, reservoirs, 
electric lights, and rapid transit embody the finest 
achievements of the race ; but its congestion, ignorance, 
want, exploitation, graft, vice, immorality, disease, 
commercialized amusements, lawlessness, abandon, and 
disregard of others constitute the greatest menace to 
personality, to neighborliness, to righteous living, and 
to the democracy of God. 

The trouble is that the city has grown too fast and too 
big. Greater New York City contains as many people 
as eight far western States ; some people are still living 
who were born when Chicago was a town of only eleven 
thousand. In handling this ever-increasing popula- 
tion the physical facilities of the city have far out- 
distanced its social and spiritual facilities. The me- 
chanics of city living are well perfected; but the hu- 
manities of life, the measures for preserving the sanc- 
tity of the home, the sacredness of personality, and the 
ideals of the group, for assimilating and adapting each 
ncAvcomer personally and completely to the community, 
these are far behind in development. Just as long as 

185 



18G RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

builders can excavate deeper, skyserape higher, and 
pack in tighter, people continue to be dumped into the 
city until as many as four thousand exist in a single 
block, and the problem of maintaining privac}^, de- 
cency, home life, and high standards of living, think- 
ing, and behaving becomes increasingly acute. 

When people live in crowds, it becomes a habit not 
to see the trees for the forest. That is why in some re- 
spects the great modern city is a new kind of wilder- 
ness, surprisingly lonely, where people frequently lose 
their way, and faint, and perish by the way unnoticed. 
It is not uncommon in New York for i)eople to die in 
their rooms and not be missed until their bodies are 
discovered days afterward; or for very small children, 
whose mothers toil away for the day, to forage on the 
street for all the food they get during the day, like 
four-year-old Esther, of whom Miss Bertha Merrill of 
the Disciples' Community House speaks, who died from 
poisoning from food picked up on the street. The con- 
ditions which such cases as these illustrate are found 
most conspicuously in New York or Boston, but to a 
larger or less extent they apply to certain sections of 
all the large cities from coast to coast. 

Definition. Thus it is that, whereas, in Livingstone 's 
day missionary pioneering was confined largely to the 
unexplored continent, to-daj^ it centres increasingly in 
the nnsocialized city, where people by hundreds of 
thousands and millions form swamps and marshes of hu- 
manity. This new field of social service is wide. A 
recent list of social agencies^ includes no fewer than 



^Lattimore, Eleanor L., "Social Agencies," Industrial Commission, 
Y. W. C. A. 



THE SOCIAL-RELIGIOUS WORKER 187 

150 different oi-franizations for social betterment, in- 
cluding such familiar ones as the Red Cross, the Asso- 
ciated Charities, the Travellers' Aid, the Russell Sage 
Foundation, the National Consumers' League, the Re- 
view of Motion Pictures, the Parent-Teacher Associa- 
tion, the Public Health Service, the Rockefeller Foun- 
dation, milk stations, the Child Welfare Association, 
the day-nursery, the Big Brother Movement, the Boy 
Scouts, the Camp-fire Girls, the Playground Associa- 
tion, and federal. State, and special immigration and 
Americanization activities. Strictly speaking, how- 
ever, these enterprises in general are not the legitimate 
field for the religious worker as such. For the purpose 
in hand, which is to describe "church careers" suitable 
for Christian Life-Work Recruits, the social-religious 
worker may be defined as one who, with a primary re- 
ligious motive, carries on social service in the employ 
of an organization which is definitely religious.^ 

Types of Work. In a sense the whole programme of 
the church at home and abroad is social service. Dr. 
John McDowell regards social service as *'a function 
of religion rather than a department." From this 
point of view, to a greater or less extent, minister, for- 
eign missionary, deaconess, and lay worker all do work 
of this type. Especially is this true of the programme 
of the home missionary, the overseas worker, the Asso- 
ciation secretar}^, and the deaconess. However, the fol- 
lowing are more specifically social-religious workers. 

The Migrant-Group Worker. In an interesting leaf- 
let called ''Harvesting Souls in Berry-Patches" Miss 



^Definition suggested by Miss Adelaide T. Case, Department of 
Religious Education, Teachers' College, Columbia University. 



188 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Lila B. Acheson describes the work which home-mis- 
sion boards are just beginning to take up among the 
groups of harvesters who for weeks and months, up- 
rooted from normal home and community conditions, 
migrate from south to north with the season. These 
people find themselves without educational, social, and 
religious opportunities of any kind. The programme 
to be undertaken is still a matter of experiment, but it 
will undoubtedly include such fea,tures as a kinder- 
garten for the small children, supervised play, whole- 
some entertainment, and some forms of Sunday and 
week-day religious services. 

The Community- Station Worker. This worker finds 
employment under home-mission boards in backward 
communities, in "the back washes of life's rush," 
where school and church have not yet entered. The 
community-station worker is neither teacher nor 
preacher, but he prepares for both school and church 
by nursing into life a community consciousness, by set- 
ting up a programme of community-betterment, and 
by developing leadership through group activities and 
clubs. The programme of such a worker includes many 
activities, from getting acquainted with every one for 
a mile around, nursing the sick, and conducting a Sun- 
day-school or Christian Endeavor society to superin- 
tending the building of a bridge across Cutshin Creek, 
as did Miss Rose McCord, of Wooton, Ky. 

The Colporteur. This worker is more than simply a 
distributer of religious literature. He is a missionary 
in very real way, who canvasses foreign colonies and 
settlements. In addition to doing personal soul-win- 
ning he frequently gathers valuable information 



THE SOCIAL-RELIGIOUS WORKER 189 

which may lead to the establishment of permanent mis- 
sion work. The consecrated written page has always 
been an effective preacher and evangelist, and just as 
literature is coming to the front in missionary enter- 
prise overseas, Christian literature translated into the 
language of their native lands is proving successful in 
reaching and influencing the Bohemians, Italians, Hun- 
garians, Ukrainians, Poles, Russians, and Jews here. 
There is at present a plan to establish a training-school 
offering a two years' course for this type of worker.' 

I. The Community-House Worker 

Programme. Under this heading may be listed in 
general at least three types of workers. 1. Practically 
any member of the staff of a socialized or institutional 
church who, using the church as a base, mediates the 
Christian message within the immediate community to 
all without regard to church affiliations. 2. Any mem- 
ber of the staff of a settlement or community house 
located within a congested area of foreign population 
to carry on a programme of Americanization. 3. The 
worker in a similar centre located within an industrial 
area. The following study of a worker of the second 
type mentioned has in the main many points in com- 
mon with the others. 

Community work is a labor of love. The purpose of 
the community-house worker is to Christianize the 
community through ministering to its needs, with em- 
phasis upon the last four words, "ministering to its 
needs." ''Americanization with a religious back- 
ground" is another way of saying the same thing. 



^See "Evangelizing the Immigrant," pamphlet, issued by the 
Missionary Department, Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath- 
School Work, Philadelphia, Penn. 



1J)() RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Here are immigrants, parents and children, who first 
of all must be taught the English language in order 
to be taught American traditions, ideals, and stand- 
ards. A community worker is a foreign missionary to 
''Little Italy," who goes a stranger to dwell among 
strangers, to make them realize through his life tliat 
God cares. To get acquainted with people as individ- 
uals, to make a real friend of every one of them, to 
break barriers of class and race, to approximate the 
redeeming spirit of neighborliness, to make society a 
safe place for saving souls rather than trying directly 
to save them, all this is the programme of Christian- 
community work. Diffendorfer' well states the funda- 
mental policy of the movement when he speaks of the 
opportunity of the church, ''not to build up itself out 
of the community, but to build up the community out 
of its very life." 

Routine. Consider a community worker on the East 
Side, New York City. She is the senior member of a 
staff of three full-time and seven part-time workers. 
She divides responsibility for the Avhole enterprise 
with a man who is in charge of the work for men and 
boys. The "parish" lies within a radius of about two 
blocks, now having contacts with between four hun- 
dred and five' hundred children and grown-ups, repre- 
senting thirteen nationalities. The Aveekly schedule of 
activities which she supervises includes a cooking-class 
of ten, a sewing-class of twenty-four, a millinery class 
of sixteen, a story-telling hour on Saturday afternoon, 
and the kindergarten. Other activites include fre- 



^Diffendorfer, Ralph E., "The Church and the Community," Inter- 
church World Movement, 1920, p. xxi. 



THE SOCIAL-RELIGIOUS WORKER 191 

quent evening entertainments, a chorus class, private 
music-lessons on the piano, manual training, gymna- 
sium, and Sunday-school. 

This worker keeps daily office-hours from ten to one 
or two to five. Perhaps three evenings a week she 
spends at the centre. In the course of a day, in addi- 
tion to the stated tasks, she shops for the noonday 
meal, buys and prepares the material for the cooking, 
sewing, or millinery class, interviews one or two moth- 
ers, makes three or four calls, prescribes for one woman 
whom she finds ill, plans the menu and invites the 
guests for a "mothers' dinner," which the girls in the 
cooking-class will cook and serve, and, in all that she 
undertakes or starts, she suffers a dozen interruptions 
from unexpected sources, as, for example, when a 
small boy comes rushing in, whose face an older sister 
has washed with lye ! One readily agrees with Miss 
Bertha Merrill when she smilingly remarks that ''the 
best preparation for a community worker is to have 
been raised as the oldest child in a large family.^' 

Difficulties. One of the chief problems of the com- 
munity worker is to a,chieve common understanding. 
To get past the obstacle of language is not easy; but, 
where a medium of mutual ideas and traditions and 
outlook on life is lacking, the situation is still less 
easy. The worker meets misunderstanding, suspicion, 
and prejudice. Furthermore, practically all the work 
of the community centre represents high-tension activ- 
ity. The groups worked with, lack homogeneity. In 
age, in race, in creed, in refinement, in spirit, the few 
persons gathered in one class may represent polar ex- 
tremes. Problems of interest and of discipline are thus 
doubly hard and exacting. There is a lack of stability 



19-2 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

and certainty which is also trying. It is impossible to 
anticipate the response to any i^roposal. The future is 
always an unknown quantity, especially where it is 
estimated that a third of the constituency changes 
every six months. Added to this is the undisputed fact 
that in terms of evangelization or gain in church-mem- 
bership community work is of all types the slowest in 
results. Direct appeals for the Christian church are 
not made. The Christian motive and zeal of the worker 
find expression principally in example, in spirit, and in 
creating a Christ-like atmosphere at the community 
house, calculated to fulfil its own subtle mission in the 
hearts of many who come. And it is exactly the main- 
tenance of this essential Christian atmosphere which 
is perhaps the greatest problem of the community 
worker. 

Satisfactions. After so formidable a catalogue of 
disadvantages one might think rewards must be en- 
tirely lacking, but for the person really on fire to serve 
there are just as many gratifications as there are con- 
tacts, for every personal contact in the community 
parish spells an opportunity to help some one who is 
inadequately adjusted, groping in the dark, toward a. 
fuller, more abundant life. The comparative respon- 
siveness of the children, their eagerness to please, their 
quickness to learn, and their ready co-operation in gain- 
ing entree to the homes are among the real satisfac- 
tions of the worker. To get to know people intimately 
and to find that beneath the racial name and the alien 
skin beats a heart as human and as true as any is a 
rare experience of personal growth. The handiest place 
to make a trip around the world is in the settlement 
work of a large American city. It is a training-school 



THE SOCIAL-RELIGIOUS WORKER 193 

for world citizenship; and, best of all, it is a pla.ce 
where one may practise daily lessons from Him who 
said, "I came not to be ministered unto, but to min- 
ister.'' 

Desirable Qualities. "An open mind, a sympathetic 
heart, and a willing hand" are exactly the prerequi- 
sites for the successful community worker. An open 
mind means the capacity to expect to find, to find,. and 
to appropriate the good in others. One who expects 
to do social service should not expect to find people 
who are hopelessly depraved, entirely unenlightened, 
or dressed in rags and tatters. When the present 
writer asked his debating-class at the "Labor Temple" 
in the east side of New York City, composed of young 
men and women, to mention subjects for debate which 
would interest them, the suggestions included "Pla- 
tonic Friendship," "the Income Tax," "Capital Pun- 
ishment," "Eugenics," "Compulsory Military Train- 
ing," and "Plato's Republic"! Broad sympathy, pa- 
tience, an even temper, and a good sense of humor are 
fine assets, to which may be added in anticipation of 
the many diversified demands a ready adaptability. 

Preparation. Successful community work is a sci- 
ence. It cannot succeed on sentiment. The least train- 
ing with which one should attempt full responsibility 
for community work is a full college course and gradu- 
ate work of at least one year. An increasing number of 
colleges are offering courses for social-religious work- 
ers, which include such studies a,s education, immigrant 
problems, industrial conditions and relations, modern 
social problems, psychology of the Christian life, hy- 
giene, nursing, household arts, and supervision of rec- 



194 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

reation, as well as elementary courses in the Bible cal- 
culated to give "a working knowledge of the social 
teachings of Jesus." This graduate work can well be 
taken over a period of two to three years, in connec- 
tion with actual community work, on a part-time basis. 

Statistics. No doubt thousands of people are en- 
gaged in social-service work in the United States today. 
When the area is limited by the definition adopted in 
these pages, however, and further narrowed to the 
activities of workers representing the Protestant evan- 
gelical churches, the number is probably between six 
hundred and eight hundred, of whom perhaps seventy- 
eight per cent are women. For the type of work de- 
scribed here, the salary is $1,800 to $2,500. The mis- 
sion boards have openings for more than two hundred 
women settlement workers now. 

II. The Salvation Army Officer 

Purpose. The Salvation Army was born to William 
and Catherine Booth in a gospel tent in the East End 
of London in 1865. It was consecrated to the proclama- 
tion of the gospel of Christ to all men, but especially 
to the common people of the great cities, untouched by 
ordinary religious efforts. It is an evangelical religi- 
ous organization, which has but three words in its the- 
ology : Salvation for self, for others, for the world ; 
Love for the lost ; and Service on the part of those who 
realize ' ' that they must now live for Him who died for 
them." It is ''the Church of the Lost," which to-day 
throughout the world lives for one purpose — to bring 
salvation to the slums and the streets. 



THE SOCIAL-RELRUOrS WORKER 195 

Organization. Tho Army has a closely knit military 
system, at the bottom of whieh is the corps, which is 
the smallest local unit. These may number one or more 
in any cit3^ Above the corps are divisions, and above 
these in turn is the territory, the usual national unit for 
the work. Above the national work is the general, or 
commander-in-chief, with the international headquar- 
ters in London. In the United States are three terri- 
tories united into a National Command under the lead- 
ership of Commander Evangeline Booth, a daughter of 
the founder. The officers, beginning with the lowest, 
are lieutenant, captain, ensign, adjutant, and command- 
ant. Above these are the staff officers, ranging from 
captain, major, brigadier, colonel, commissioner, to 
chief of staff and general. All of these are full-time 
salaried workers, but below them are the soldiers or 
regular lay members, who, at a minimum age of fif- 
teen, are sworn in by a service under the ''blood-and- 
fire flag," and are subject also to military orders and 
regulations. 

Activities. The largest single social relief organiza- 
tion in the world is perhaps the Salvation Army. Un- 
der its two departments of evangelistic and social work 
it carries on a varied programme, including hotels, in- 
dustrial institutions, labor bureaus, rescue homes, prison 
work, children's homes, maternity homes, slum posts, 
nurseries, summer fresh-air camps, and even distribu- 
tion of coal and ice. All of this work it carries on for 
all people in need, regardless of race, color, or creed. 
The department of army and navy work holds religious 
services and establishes Homes. Young people receive 
regular instruction in the Bible. There is a corps cadet 



196 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

brigade for youth looking forward to officers' careers, 
and also ''Life-Saving Guard" organizations for both 
boys and girls, which have as their motto, "Save your 
body ; save your mind ; save your soul ; save others. ' ' 

Method. The method of the Army is to go out into 
the highways and persuade them to come in. Meetings 
are held on the streets everywhere when lawful, and, 
when weather permits, throughout the year. These 
meetings are followed by a parade to the indoor meet- 
ing which follows. These are always intensely evan- 
gelistic in spirit and tone. Members are urged to at- 
tend all meetings, to contribute systematically weekly, 
and to seek every opportunity to testify and pray in 
the meetings. Daily Bible-reading, family prayers, 
personal soul-saving, are emphasized. Dr. Francis E. 
Clark has said this about the Salvation Army: ''It 
sticks to first principles. It believes what it believes 
with all its heart; and thus, drawing power from on 
high, it is able, with one hand in God's, with the other 
to lift the fallen, however low they may have sunk." 

Desirable Qualities and Training. In the evangelis- 
tic work emphasis is upon ability in speaking, singing, 
organizing, and mixing. In the social work it is on 
large sympathies, good management, resourcefulness, 
and energy. In a general way it may be said that any 
person who is conscious of a personal saving religious 
experience, who is young and healthy, "willing tc 
adapt himself to any work and to work hard," has a 
place waiting for him on the staff of the Army. After 
appearing for an examination as to one's motives and 
conviction of a "call" the successful candidate is sent 
to one of the training-schools, of which there are two in 



THE SOCIAL-RELIGIOUS WORKER 197 

New York and two in Chicago, for nine months, re- 
ceiving tuition and living free. At the end of that time 
he or she is commissioned as lieutenant and sent into 
the field. 

The curriculum of the Salvation Army training-col- 
lege is intensely practical. It includes teaching in the 
Bible, with emphasis upon evangelism and soul-saving ; 
lectures by Army officers and leaders ; training in Sal- 
vation Army doctrine and discipline; and music. "Side 
classes" include a project in corps work in which each 
cadet, the name given the student officers, prepares a 
weekly regulation report for an imaginary corps of 
which he is in command ; platform work ; first aid ; mis- 
sionary information; general education where needed; 
and domestic economy for the girls. 

Statistics. Salvation Army officers, especially those 
of lower rank, are very poorly paid. Lieutenants are 
supposed to receive thirteen dollars a week. After two 
years they are promoted to the rank of captain, and 
receive fourteen dollars a week. After five years they 
become ensign; and after another five years adjutant. 
Above this advancement is by selection. The officers 
and cadets of the Army in the United States number 
3,649, of whom about sixty per cent are women.^ 

III. The Rescue-Mission Worker 

Statistics. The type of worker to be considered in 
this section probably numbers no fewer than 250 in the 
United Sta,tes. The salary is about $1,200 or $1,500 and 
in many cases living. 



^Information kindly furnished by Colonel J. E. Margetts, of the 
National Headquarters. 



198 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Programme. The community worker is one sent to 
redeem the neighborhood ; the Salvation Army officer 
is one sent to redeem the street; the rescue-mission 
superintendent is one sent to redeem the down-and- 
outer. The last-named worker is truly a fisher of men, 
who lowers his net far out in the black, deep sea of sin. 
The whole platform of the rescue-mission movement is 
the salvation of sinners through faith in Jesus Christ. 
Character-rehabilitation is its sole purpose. It consid- 
ers any man with breath in his body worth saving, and 
its policy is never to give a man up. Thus in the large 
city it usually stands as the last stop on the way to 
suicide and utter wreck. In a sense, this type of work 
is wholly evangelistic, because its work of feeding, 
clothing, and sheltering is always secondary to the 
gospel meeting and personal soul-winning. This rec- 
lamation of human wastage is high service to society. 
The corner-stone of the rescue mission is this : that ' ' a 
redeemed world can be made only by the redemption 
of the character of men through the Christ of the 
cross. ' ' 

Desirable Qualities and Preparation. The rescue- 
mission superintendency is perhaps the most highlj^ se- 
lective of all the types of religious vocation. Simply 
to say that the superintendent should be completely 
self-controlled, friendly, good-natured, earnest, sympa- 
thetic, tolerant, consumed with a love for men, and 
thoroughly saturated with a God-given patience is to 
overlook the chief qualification, which seems to be 
that he himself should be a redeemed outcast, one who, 
himself, "broken and bruised and sore, has cried at 
His open door." Curiously enough, it is by way of the 



THE SOCIAL-RELIGIOUS WORKER 199 

saloon that some of the greatest rescue-mission work- 
ers have come. 

As to preparation of the kind given by theological 
schools and colleges, there seems to be a danger of 
over-education rather than the reverse. To be genu- 
inely converted, to study the Scriptures, to be taught 
by the Holy Spirit, and to develop gradually into re- 
sponsibility through an apprenticeship of volunteer 
service in the mission itself, remains probably the best 
training for the superintendent of the rescue mission. 
Of the converts of the McAuley Mission who have en- 
tered religious vocations more than half are rescue- 
mission workers. 

Difficulties. The vocabulary of these twice-born men 
has no place for the word "hardships." Yet it is not 
all sunshine even here in this atmosphere perpetually 
glowing with religious fervor and love. There are no 
office-hours, or, rather, all hours are office-hours in a 
rescue mission, for the superintendent is subject to all 
calls all the time. It is a wearing and tearing job to 
which, as Superintendent John H. Wyburn expresses 
it, ' ' you must give your life-blood all the time or quit. ' ' 
Perhaps the hardest cross is the ingratitude of the 
rank and file of men who, coming and going in an end- 
less line, misunderstanding, spurning, and scorning, 
unfeeling and dumb like water-soaked logs adrift, 
place a continual strain on the worker's patience and 
long-suffering. 

Satisfactions. The joy of the rescue-mission superin- 
tendent comes through being a co-worker with God, 
through finding now and again real gold hidden away 
in the crushed human clay which he handles, and 



200 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

through witnessing with his own eyes the modern mira- 
cles performed by the "down-swooping, uplifting power 
of the gospel of Jesus Christ." It must be compensa- 
tion immeasurable for the superintendent when he 
hears from his children in Christ such words as these : 
''I came to this mission as a homeless man. I had 
been through all the rough stuff. I came homeless, 
friendlcigs, ragged, and drunk. I've never been the 
same man since I got up from that bench." 

^ •TV 

"As I came down the Bowery to-night, I passed the 
saloon where I spent many years of my life. I thanked 
God for planting my feet on higher ground; and I 
pray He will plant me so high that I can never fall." 

"I thank God for this mission. I was led here 
through prayer. Prayer is a wonderful thing, but 
you've got to keep your mind on it and pray hard. I 
was raised as a Christian, went to church and Sunday- 
school ; but I knew nothing of a personal Saviour until 

I came here." 

* * * 

"I've been about as good a booze-fighter as they 
make 'em. When I got so low nothing could help me, 
I met a man who knew Jesus. The best friend I have 
to-night is the Lord Jesus." 

"Three years ago the fourteenth of June I sat in 
Madison Square, broke in money and health, thrown 
out of every place. When the cop made me get off the 
park, where could I go? No place but the mission of 
Jesus, where I have many times sat and sneered and 



THE SOCIAL-RELIGIOUS WORKER 201 

scoffed. Now I have health and happiness. I had 
bucked the line since I was eighteen, chain-gang and 
all. Only Jesus could keep me. I'm proud to say, 
thank God, Jesus saved me!" 

"rf "7? "TF 

"I thank God for four weeks and three days of peace 

and happiness." 

# * * 

"I want to thank God for another day, for four 
weeks and three days of life." 



"I am thankful to be here to-night and to testify that 
three years, ten months, and fourteen days ago I gave 
my heart to Jesus. Do you see that motto over the 
door? 'No Compromise with Sin.' That is my slogan, 
for, if I took m}" eyes off Jesus Christ, I'd be in the 
gutter again to-morrow." 

Is it any wonder that the superintendent of that 
mission,' at the close of such a service could say, with 
his face radiant, "I marvel anew every day at the 
keeping power of God"? and testimonies like these are 
given three hundred and sixty-five nights and fifty- 
two Sundays every year in a rescue mission. 



^Between the date when he invited the writer to dinner and to 
spend an evening at the mission and the writing of this manuscript 
Superintendent Wyburn, of the McAuley Water Street Mission has 
passed on, still safe in ''the keeping power'' of God. 



202 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 



REFERENCES 
PART III 

General 

a. Eastman, E. Fred, ' ' Unfinished Business, ' ' Presbyterian 

Board of Publication, Philadelphia, 1921. 

b. Thompson, Charles L., ' * The Soul of America, ' ' Fleming H. 

Eevell Company, New York City, 1919, 

c. Ward, Harry F., ''The New Social Order," Macmillan & 

Company, New York City, 1919. 

Chapter X 

d. Wilson, Eliz., ' ' Fifty Years of Association Work, ' ' National 

Board, Y. W. C. A., New York City, 1916. 

e. Super, Paul, * ' Training a Staff, ' ' Associated Press, New 

York City, 1920. 

f . Soares and Ober, " Y. M. C. A. Secretaryship, ' ' Association 

Press, New York City, 1919. 

g. Mayo, ' ' That Damn Y, ' ' Houghton, Miflain Co., Boston, 1920. 

Chapter XI 

h. ''Organized Sunday-school Work in North America," 1914- 
18, International Sunday-school Association, Chicago, 1918. 

Chapter XII 

i. Tippy, Worth M., "The Socialized Church," Chapters VII, 
VIII, Eaton and Mains, New York City, 1909. 

Chapter XIII 

j. Eoberts, Philip J., "Charlie Alexander," Fleming H. Eevell 
Company, New York City, 1920. 



REFERENCES, PART III 203 

Chapter XIV 

k. Brooks, Charles A., "Christian Americanization," Missionary 
Education Movement, New York City, 1919. 

1. Attlee, C. K., * * The Social Worker, ' ' G. Bell, London, 1920. 

m. Haggard, Eider, * ' Kegeneration " (Salvation Army novel). 

n. Roberts, Philip I., "The Dry Dock of a Thousand Wrecks," 
Fleming H. Re veil Company, 1912. 

Chapter XV 

o. Burton, Margaret E., * ' Comrades in Service, ' ' Missionary 
Education Movement, New York City, 1919. 

p. Fleming, Daniel Johnson, ' ' Marks of a World Christian, ' ' 
Associated Press, New York City, 1919. 

q. Foster, Eugene C, ' ' Making Life Count, ' ' Missionary Educa- 
tion Movement, New York City, 1918. 

r. Foster, John, * * Decision of Character, ' ' Student Volunteer 
Movement, New York City. 

s. Weaver, E. W., ' ' Choosing an Occupation, ' ' Association Press, 
New York City, 1920. 

t. Hollingworth, H. L., "Vocational Psychology," D. Appleton 
& Co., New York City, 1916. 



204 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 



ASSIGNMENTS 
PART III 

Chapter X 

* What Association secretaries have you known? What most 

impressed you about them and their work? 

* What do you consider the most important feature of Asso- 

ciation w'ork? 

1. Why is it unusually essential in Y. W. C. A. work to ''train 

w^orkers about a work rather than followers about a 
leader"? 

2. Which type of training do you consider superior for a Y. M. 

C. A. secretary, Association, college, or apprenticeship? 

Chapter XI 

* How many different types of field-workers have yeu met? 

Tell about them. 

3. Point out all the distinctions you can between the work, the 

advantages and disadvantages, qualifications, and prepara- 
tion of Christian Endeavor field-secretaries and Sunday- 
school field-workers. 

4. As a field- worker how would you attempt to solve the ' ' over- 

lapping, duplication problem"? 

Chapter XII 

5. Would you recommend the establishment of deaconess orders 

in all Protestant churches? Why? 

6. In doing work of a similar type would you prefer to be a 

deaconess or a lay worker? 

Chapter XIII 

7. Name as many types of home-mission workers as you can, 

describing their work. (See a.) 



ASSIGNMENTS, PART III 205 

Chapter XIV 

8. Would you consider a salaried Red Cross worker a religious 

worker ? Why ? 

9. What especially distinguishes a social-religious worker from 

other religious workers '? 

10. What can you say as to the permanence of rescue-mission 

conversions? (See n.) 

11. What wdll be the result of effective prohibition upon the 

policy and work of the rescue mission? 

Chapter XV 

12. Prepare a different classification of religious vocations, 

omitting none given here and adding as many others as 
possible. (See a of Part I.) 

13. Figure the proportionate number of women engaged in reli- 

gious vocations, and make a prediction as to future increase 
or decrease in their number in proportion to men workers. 

14. Prepare a chart showing total vocational distribution accord- 

ing to the estimates furnished in this book. Compare with 
distribution of Recruits (Appendix 4). Compare with dis- 
tribution of calls. 

In General 

* Which vocation do you consider most permanent? Which 
most transient? 

15. Study and advise on case 4, case 7, case 10. 

16. Select the chief difficulty and chief quality which appear most 

nearly distinctive of each type of worker considered. 

17. Interview a worker in one of the vocations considered, and 

report. 

18. For a special project on this section see Appendix 3. 



CONCLUSION 



CHAPTER XV 

THE COUNSELLOR 

When a young' man comes to another and sincerely 
asks adA'ice about his life-work, the spot where those two 
men stand is holy ground. Next to getting right with 
God is getting right with the world, and that means 
getting a right job. One's happiness and usefulness to 
himself, his family, and to societ}' depends largely' upon 
that. Not only getting started in the right direction, 
but getting started on time, is of increasing importance 
in this epoch, which is so decidedly a young man's age. 
The one Avho is called upon to act as counsellor is not 
only honored, but confronted with a great responsibility. 

I. Method 

In giving vocational advice go slowly. Make sugges- 
tions, but do not make decisions for other people. 
Encourage, but do not force issues. A man's choice 
of a vocation is sacred. Let him make it for himself. 
Above all, do not attempt to commit him to a religious 
vocation solely upon the grounds of the need for work- 
ers. The church ought to have volunteers who enlist 
because of the appeal of congenial labor and of the 
irresistible lure of unequalled opportunity for self- 
expression and service. The direct services of the 
counsellor are largely limited to giving information and 
to encouraging the inquirer in broad investigation, 
sincere prayer, and volunteer service as try-out measures. 

209 



210 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

The Weaver Plan. Mr. E. W. Weaver, director of 
occupational guidance of the united Y. M. C. A. schools, 
has found it helpful in talking with young people to 
have them prepare lists of reasons for entering a given 
vocation; and then he has taken the negative side in a 
friendly debate, himself bringing out the disadvantages. 
Mr. Weaver recommends the making of a plan for one 's 
vocational future, the plan, which is to be carefully 
written out, to include such items as' the following: 

1. One's preferences. 

2. Reasons for one's choice. 

3. Estimate of one's own qualifications. 

4. List of one's recognized deficiencies and how each 

may be overcome. 

5. Educational, financial, and physical requirements. 

6. Desirable developmental employment while mak- 

ing preparation. 

7. Schools to be attended and courses to be pursued. 

Determinants of Vocational Choice. Mott finds' that 
all but nine of 828 successful ministers come from homes 
pronouncedly favorable to a decision for the ministry; 
and he reports that of 400 ministers, four-fifths give 
Christian parents and Christian homes as the chief 
factor in determining their choice. Rev. Burton St. John 
finds'' in a study of 500 Student Volunteers that thirty- 
three per cent are influenced by conventions ; twenty 
per cent mention home and parents; fifty-five per 
cent mention being helped to a decision by some person 
with missionary experience, while fifty-seven per cent 
mention the influence of other volunteers, either person- 



* "Choosing an Occupation," Association Press, New York Citv, 
1920, p. 12. 

''Mott, J. R., "Future Leadership of the Church," Association 
Press, NeAV York, 1909, p. 127. 



THE COUNSELLOR 211 

ally or in small groups. As to age of decision, a study 
of 894 candidates for the ministry' indicates that 477, or 
fifty-three per cent, decide between the ages of sixteen 
and twenty-one. More studies are needed in this field."* 
Generalizations are not to be lightly made. With many 
exceptions, the normally advantageous age is some time 
between seventeen and twenty-four, perhaps; and the 
recruit with a Christian home as a background and the 
influence of a personal contact with an experienced 
friend as one of the main contributing influences is apt 
to be the one best established in his conviction, this 
again with many exceptions.^ 

Volunteer Work. One of the best methods of deter- 
mining one's liking and fitness for a calling is through 
sampling the actual work. In the field of secular voca- 
tional guidance one of the keenest problems is to provide 
'Hry-out courses" which shall really approximate the 
actual activities of the vocational world. Industry cannot 
slow down while amateurs come in to experiment. In 
this regard the religious vocational counsellor is unusu- 
ally fortunate. Volunteer church-work is everywhere al- 
ways available. It affords an opportunity which should 
be made the most of. For many successful religious 
workers, volunteer church-work has proved the success- 
ful apprenticeship. McBurney, the great Y. M. C. A. 
secretary, decided upon a religious career as the result 
of winning a soul for Christ. Spurgeon preached his 
first sermon at sixteen as a layman. This is one secret 
of the great usefulness of the young people's movement 
in influencing life-decisions. 



^Unpublished report of a study of Student Volunteers for 1919-20. 

^Speakers' Manual, Interchurch World Movement, New York, 
1920, p. 54. 

"^For a study of Christian Endeavor Recruits by the writer, see 
Appendix IV. 



212 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

II. The Problem of Preparation 

Educational preparation for religious work may be 
obtained in denominational colleges, in interdenomina- 
tional colleges of the Bible, in Bible institutes, and in 
theological seminaries. The aid made available by 
denominational sources, ordinarily offered only to those 
who attend the denominational colleges and seminaries, 
takes the form of free tuition, annual scholarships, and 
loan funds. Sometimes churches provide scholarships, 
retaining the privilege of naming the beneficiaries. In 
some denominations all such help for those seeking aid 
comes from individual schools. Eequirements and terms 
vary greatly. 

Help from Boards. In other denominations, notably 
the Methodist and Presbyterian, in addition to the funds 
made available by separate institutions and organizations 
the national board of education provides assistance. 
Help is given to ministerial, missionary, and lay work- 
ers, the amount varying with each type of work and 
with each period in the schooling of each individual. In 
the Methodist Church a total of $600 may be borrowed 
during his course of preparation by any one student, 
interest being at four per cent. In the Presbyterian 
Church the usual limit is $500, with a maximum of $900 
in exceptional cases. In all cases notes become due and 
payable within a stated period after graduation. 

Recipients of aid from" such loan funds are expected 
to show suitable character, scholarship above the aver- 
age, and '' prospect of promise." Notes must be given, 
and the applicant must have recommendation from 
suitable authorities. The situation is such at this time 
that above high-school grade any capable Recruit may 



THE COUNSELLOR 213 

reasoiiabh' hope for generous assistance in preparing 
for a religious carer. 



'O' 



III. Cautions 

Exceptions. "Do not despise common sense, but in 
the Spirit-guided life there is an uncommon sense," a 
statement of Rev. George Wilson's which cannot be too 
strongly recommended to the counsellor of Christian 
youth. This is but a reiteration of the point made in the 
introduction as to the limits in this field of religious 
vocations. Wesley was a failure who succeeded. Russell 
H. Conwell is a renowned minister who, after a success- 
ful secular career, preached his first sermon at thirty-five. 
When Frank Higgins,' martyr trail-blazer, whose life- 
story is destined to inspire thousands, having decided 
to become a preacher, set out from home, his pastor said 
to him, "Frank, you are making a mistake; you will 
make a good layman; you are not cut out for the 
ministry. ' ' 

Especially in the matter of desirable qualities, which 
have been endlessly emphasized in these pages, it must 
be remembered that most of them are a matter of devel- 
opment and the working of the grace of God. The ques- 
tion is not only. Are these such men ? but, as Robert E. 
Speer^ states it, "Are they willing to let God make 
them such men?" 

Are All Vocations Equally Christian? No honest 
man should ever be insulted because of his occupation. 
Any legitimate work that any man can ever do may be 



^Whittles, Thomas D., "Frank Higgins, Trail-Blazer," Interchurch 
World Movement, New York, 1920, p. 23. 

^"Wanted," in The Student Volunteer. Movement Bulletin, Jan- 
uary, 1921, p. 16. 



214 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Christian. All right work is honorable. Yet, on the other 
hand, one must not concede too much to the modern 
sentiment about the sacredness of all vocations. Through 
the argument that a man can serve God as well in busi- 
ness as in the pulpit many of the choicest and best -fitted 
men are missing their highest and most direct oppor- 
tunity for despatching the King's business. It is pos- 
sible to overemphasize Christian motive and under- 
emphasize Christian service. 

Consider two travellers. Both board the same train. 
Both are bound for the same city. Both are eager to 
arrive on time. Both are anxious for the safety of the 
train. Both are engaged in business. Both, in differ- 
ing degrees, are indispensable to the running of the train. 
In almost everything these men are alike except in this : 
One rides in the train; the other drives it; one is a 
passenger ; the other, the engineer. The train represents 
the church. To-day each qualified person has the choice 
of being an engineer, with his hand on the throttle, or 
of being simply a passenger, contributing only indirectl}^ 
to the oncoming of the kingdom of God. All vocations 
are equally Christian, but not Christian equally to all 
persons. For any individual that job is most Christian 
for which he is best fitted and which offers him the 
greatest opportunity to honor and worship God and to 
carry out the programme of Jesus Christ for the service 
of society. 

IV. Conclusion 

' ' The world has had a head-on collision, and wreckage 
is in every corner of the earth." Humanity is knocking 
at the door of the church, not only for food, but for 



THE COUNSELLOR 215 

sympathy and life. This is the background. The pro- 
gramme is the universal brotherhood of man. The 
routine is ceaseless, self-spending service, helping, hop- 
ing, lifting. The indispensable quality is love, love, 
love. The preparation is many-sided and exacting, but 
it is above all such that men may take knowledge that 
the man trained has been with Jesus. The compensation 
is no Washington monument. Monuments never speak 
one's name aloud with tenderness, nor turn a hand to 
serve humanity. To leave one friend who loves and cares 
is better than a marble shaft; and to have wrought one's 
best self through Christian service into many lives to 
carry on when one is gone is more beautiful and difficult 
and permanent than the Arc de Triomphe, and this is 
the reward of the minister, the foreign missionary, the 
deaconess, and the lay worker, for the religious voca- 
tion is a sublime adventure in world friendship. Let 
this "advertisement" of Deaconess Hart sum up the 
whole story : 

Wanted : Ten young women between the ages of 
twenty-five and thirty-five for work in the mission- 
ary district of Hankow. Applicants should possess 
a good digestion, a sense of humor, and an amiable 
disposition. Hours long, work hard, salary small, 
compensation wonderful. 



APPENDIXES 



APPENDIXES 

APPENDIX I 
ADDRESSES OF FOREIGN-MISSION BOARDS 

Baptist, Northern 

Annerican Baptist Foreign Mission Society, 276 Fifth Avenue, 

New York, N. Y. 

Woman's American Baptist Foreign-Mission Society, 702 

Ford Building, Boston, Mass. 
Baptist National Convention 

Lott Carey Baptist Home and Foreign Mission Convention 

in the United States, Phoebus, Va. 

Foreign- Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention, 

701 South Nineteenth Street, Philadeljjhia, Penn. 
Con GREG at ion al 

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 14 

Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 
Disciples 

Personnel Secretary, College of Missions, Indianapolis, Ind. 
Episcopal 

Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant 

Episcopal Church in the U. S. A., 281 Fourth Avenue, NeAv 

York, N. Y. 

Methodist Episcopal 

Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, Department of Foreign Personnel, 150 Fifth Avenue, 
New York, N. Y". 

Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, Eoom 710, 150 Fifth 
Avenue, New York, N. Y. 

219 



220 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

Methodist Episcopal, South 

Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 

Box 510, 810 Broadway, Nashville, Tenn. 

Woman's Missionary Council of the Methodist Episcopal 

Church, South, 810 Broadway, Nashville, Tenn. 
Presbyterian, North 

Board of Foreign Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York, 

N. Y. 

Presbyterian, South 

Executive Committee of Foreign Missions, Box 330, 156 Fifth 
Avenue, North, Nashville, Tenn. 

Eeformed in the United States 

Board of Foreign Missions, Fifteenth and Race Streets, 
Philadelphia, Penn. 

United Brethren 

Foreign-Missionary Society, 404 Otterbein Press Building, 
Dayton, O. 

Student Volunteer Movement tor Foreign Missions 
25 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. 

HOME-MISSION BOARDS 

Baptist, Northern 

American Baptist Home-Mission Society, 23 East Twenty- 
sixth Street, New York, N. Y. 

Woman's American Baptist Home-Mission Society, 276 Fifth 

Avenue, New York, N. Y. 
Baptist, Southern 

Home-Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 

1004 Healey Building, Atlanta, Ga. 
Congregational 

American Missionary Association, 287 Fourth Avenue, New 

York, N. Y. 

Congregational Home-Missionary Society, 287 Fourth Avenue, 

New York, N. Y. 

Disciples 

United Christian Missionary Society, Missouri State Life 
Building, St. Louis, Mo. 



APPENDIX 221 

Episcopal 

Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant 

Episcopal Church in the U. S. A., 281 Fourth Avenue, New 

York, N. Y. 
Methodist Episcopal 

Board of Home Missions and Church Extension, 1701 Arch 

Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 

Woman's Home-Missionary Society, Allendale, N. J. 
Methodist Episcopal, South 

Home Department, General Board of Missions, Box 510, 

Nashville, Tenn, 

Woman's Missionary Council, 810 Broadway, Nashville, Tenn. 

Presbyterian, North 

Board of Home Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 

Woman's Board of Home Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New 

York, N. Y. 

Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath-School Work, 

Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Penn. 
Presbyterian, South 

Executive Committee of Home Missions, 1522 Hurt Building, 

Atlanta, Ga. 
Eeformed Church in America 

Board of Domestic Missions, 25 East Twenty-second Street. 

New York, N. Y. 

Woman's Board of Domestic Missions, 25 East Twenty- 
second Street, New York, N. Y. 

United Brethren 

Home-Missionary Society, 412-414 Otterbein Press Building, 
Dayton, O. 



222 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 



APPENDIX II 
STATISTICS 

The estimates and figures presented in this book are rniade up 
from the last available statistics. Estimates are subject to great 
variation, and may in many cases be inaccurate; the figures upon 
which they are based vary from year to year, but since in the 
main the proportions remain fairly stable they are given here 
for the purpose of shoAving the relative distribution of religious 
workers. They should be sufficient for this purpose. 

In the study of the foreign missionary the writer is indebted 
for much help to the office of William B. Tower, records, surveys, 
and research of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. Some indication of the vocational distribu- 
tion of foreign missionaries is given by a study of 1,000 ex- 
missionaries, furnished by Mr. Tower, which shows the follow- 
ing classification: Evangelists, 45 per cent; educational workers, 
29 per cent; evangelistic and educational, 15 per cent; physicians, 
8 per cent; nurses, 3 per cent; others, 3 per cent. The results of 
other investigations made by Mr. Tower for this book as to 
length of service and ' ' turn-over, ' ' have been indicated. 



APPENDIX 2^3 



APPENDIX III 
SUGGESTIONS TO STUDY-CLASS LEADERS 

This book may be used for any number of sessions, preferably, 
perhaps, five; a preliminary session to consider the introduction, 
when assignments are made for Part I, which will be discussed 
at the second session. The fifth session may well take up the 
conclusion and the final discussion of the whole matter. 

All starred questions are intended not for assignment, but 
for impromptu discussion at appropriate times. It is not ex- 
pected that any one teacher will make use of all the questions. 
No two classes and no two teachers are alike. Some leaders may 
wish to prepare their own questions and assignments. Others 
should select those which appeal to them as significant. 

In addition to the suggestions furnished at the end of each 
section the following features may be helpful: 1. From the very 
first ask all members of the class to watch for current events 
and clippings which bear on the subject. Prepare an exhibit of 
these. 2. At each session allow a short period always for general 
questions. If the class is large, provide a question-box. 3. In 
connection with the final session ask each member to prepare a 
report for himself on the basis of the Weaver plan. 4. In con- 
nection with the assigniment which is repeated for each section of 
the book ' ' to select the chief problem and the chief desirable 
quality which seem distinctive of each vocation studied. ' ' If 
the class is large, have one member report for each vocation, 
have the reports turned in, written in briefest phrase; and then, 
writing each item before the class without indicating the voca- 
tion to which it is supposed to refer, have the entire class 
attempt to identify each one. 



224 RELIGIOUS VOCATIOx\S 

In addition, three special projects are suggested. For Part I, 
assign each vocation to a speaker, who is to make a three-minute 
recruiting speech. "While the "three-minute squad" is speaking, 
the remainder of the class will sit with note-book in hand, each 
at the conclusion deciding to enter one of the vocations pre- 
sented. The vote for each can be taken, and then different ones 
can be asked to state their reasons for their choice. This plan 
will have to be varied with the size of the class. 

For Part II, select a member of the class to impersonate a 
candidate secretary for one of the boards of foreign missions. 
Select from three to six or eight persons to apply for positions 
for different phases of work. At least one or two of those as- 
signed parts are to plan secretly to make such a showing at the 
interview as to ensure their rejection. During the several inter- 
views, which may consume about thirty to thirty-five minutes, 
the class sit with pencil and paper, prepared at the close to 
pass judgment upon the applications, accepting or rejecting 
them. 

For Part III, each member of the class may be asked to 
prepare a fifty-word ' * help-wanted ' ' advertisement for at least 
one vocation presented in that section. Or some few may be 
given this assignment, the remainder by secret ballot deciding 
which advertisement is best. 

These special projects will be especially useful in large classes 
because they will utilize large numbers in the briefest possible 
time, bringing out essential points of the text. Leaders should 
use their own ingenuity in devising other and better projects. 
Projects are especially valuable in teaching because they stimu- 
late interest, they encourage each member of the class to appro- 
priate, to attack, to work over, to use the book effectively, 
and to contribute something of himself to the class discussions 
rather than an assignment from the text. Not to imemorize the 
book, but to use it with interest, is the essential thing. To 
awaken a new point of view and to stimulate keen interest, self- 
activity on the part of the members is indispensable. 



APPENDIX 225 



APPENDIX IV 
CASES OF LIFE-WORK RECRUITS 

Of 307 Life-Work Recruits recently enrolled b}' the United 
Society of Christian Endeavor, 40 per cent are men. The fields 
of service chosen by this group of 307 are as follows: Foreign 
missions, 126; the ministry, 50; undecided, 83; young people's 
work, 17; social settlement, 16; evangelism, 16; home missions, 
14; church secretary, 7; nursing, 7; singing evangelist, 5; teach- 
ing, 4; Y. W. C. A., 4; religious education, 4; Y. M. C. A., 3; 
deaconess, 1. 

The writer selected 150 Eecruits from Maine to Texas, at the 
ratio of four men to six women. Replies were received from 
only 31 women and 25 men. The ages of the 31 women ranged 
from thirteen to forty-two, with the average at twenty-two, 44 
per cent falling in the four years between sixteen and twenty-one. 
In reply to the question as to what had most influenced their 
life-work decision nine placed a convention address first, six 
placed it second, and five placed the home first. Of the women, 
eighteen mention a convention address, seven mention home. The 
ages of the men varied from fifteen to thirty-one, with the 
average at twenty-one and one-half, 56 per cent falling between 
sixteen and twenty-one. In answer to the above question, six 
placed the pastor first and six placed the home first. Of the 
men, thirteen mention home, eleven mention the pastor. A com- 
parison of the men and the women is interesting, although the 
number of questionnaires is far too small to warrant any general- 
izations. 

The following cases are selected and compiled from the personal, 
anonymous statements of forty-two Christian Endeavor Life- 
Work Recruits who replied to the request to state their cases. 



226 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

CASE 1 (WOMAN) 

* * I am twenty-one. I worked my way through high school. 
Through a missionary, home on furlough, I learned of the diffi- 
culties and need for doctors and nurses. I decided to enlist for 
foreign service. My family are very much opposed to my selec- 
tion. I get no encouragement from them, but I hope for a change 
in attitude in answer to my prayers. 

* ' I would have started to college this fall ; but my health was 
not extra good, and I felt I could not earn my way and study 
hard. I am going to Chicago to take a nurses' training- 
course. I have a brother in college whom I am helping. I have 
five younger brothers and sisters whom I am also trying to help 
through school. ' ' 

CASE 2 (MAN) 

"I am twenty, and have chosen the ministry because I have 
a personal liking for it. I graduated from high school, and have 
spent one year in college. This year I am staying out on account 
of poor health. The doctor advised outdoor life, and I have a 
job reading waternmeters. I hope to continue college next 
September. 

** Personal fitness worries me a great deal. I know that I 
am only a one-talent man. Furthermore, I am not sure but 
that my desire to enter the ministry is purely selfish. It attracts 
me greatly. I have always w^anted to be a preacher, and thought 
that I would enjoy it more than anything else. Perhaps I have 
not a call. I have talked a great deal about this with my 
grandmother, who believes that I should wait until I receive a 
call in some unmistakable manner, and can no longer doubt of 
my fitness. ' ' 

CASE 3 (WOMAN) 

"I am just twenty. I am undecided, but I want to be a 
medical 'missionary. I made my decision on the spur of the 
moment without having talked it over with my parents. I was 
happy at first; but later I realized the spirit of the convention 
had carried me away, and I had done wrong not to consult with 
any one. 



APPENDIX 227 

"When I got home, I told mother I had given my life to 
Jesus. She said, ' You have done that already. ' When I ex- 
plained I meant life-work, and wanted to be a missionary, she 
said she couldn't let me go. This is all the talk I have ever had 
with my parents. 

"I'm in my second year of college, and my folks expect me 
to teach. However, I have always wanted to be a doctor, and 
feel that I could best serve the Lord that way. Last year I 
took up pre-medical work, but dropped it this year. My parents 
opposed me, and I know they would not let me go to foreign 
lands. I aim very fond of children, and I would like to find 
some work with them if I cannot go as a medical missionary." 

CASE 4 (MAN) 

"I am twenty; and am undecided what to do, although I have 
entered a denominational college. Would like to be a minister, 
but question my success. My mother is a widow, and I am the 
only child. As long as she lives I would not like to go to a 
foreign field. I believe I would be more successful as a teacher 
than as a preacher. 

' ' I have been an Endeavor worker for four years. I have 
travelled up and down the State doing different kinds of Christian 
Endeavor work. For two years I have been State Intermediate 
superintendent. I have also made several trips with State officers, 
acting as song-leader and general utility man. The State field- 
secretary will tell you about me. ' ' 

CASE 5 (MAN) 

"I am twenty-one; talents and qualifications fit me best, I be- 
lieve, for the ministry. At the age of eighteen I enlisted in the 
United States army, and served nine months in France. I had no 
relatives left, and was anxious to go. After two terrible months 
on the front line I was sent to that ' hell hole ' at Brest to embark 
for home; but I ended up in the hospital with 'flu' and pleurisy. 

' ' While I was in the army I had many opportunities to witness 
successfully for Jesus. I many times prayed with men, and never 
failed to read my Bible daily, sometimes to others. I like the dis- 



228 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

cipline of army life, and my sympathy and friendship go out to the 
men in uniform. If I did not feel a call to the ministry, I believe 
I would re-enlist in the army now, for I have great faith in the 
manhood of the service. ' ' 

CASE 6 (MAN) 

"I am eighteen, and I have decided to be a missionary because 
of the influence of a saintly teacher who herself once planned to 
go as a missionary, but was kept home through duty to a weak 
sister and a dependent father. Her cherished ideal she gave up, 
substituting in its place an ambition to send some one in her place. 
I am that one, Avho since her sudden death aan more determined 
than ever * to carry on. ' 

* * My folks object to my taking up the work, my grandfather 
offering to pay my college expenses if I will become a lawyer. If 
I do not accept, I must earn my own way through school. My line 
of work seems to lie in organizing, as I have made several defunct 
organizations going concerns. I would like very imuch the work of 
a Y. M. C. A. secretary or Christian Endeavor secretary here at 
home, and maybe I could accomplish more here than in foreign 
service. I do not know what to do. ' ' 

CASE 7 (WOMAN) 

* ' I am twenty-one ; Christian Endeavor and its fellowship with 
consecrated workers is responsible for my decision. Several things 
have been problems, but in His time most of them have been 
worked out. Before signing, two drawbacks were present — home 
and fiance. But prayer overcame them, and my friend is now a 
Recruit, studying for the ministry. My home influence has been 
changed so my parents are glad if I can serve. I 'm not decided 
as to work. My problem is finding my place and knowing just 
w'hat preparation it requires. ' ' 

CASE 8 (MAN) 

''I am now twenty-one, and I have become a Life-Work Recruit 
through the influence of my pastor 's sermons, through a chum, and 
because of a convention address which I heard last year. I would 



APPENDIX 229 

like to enter the ministry or foreign- missionary service; but finan- 
cial considerations, securing preparation, and doubts of personal 
fitness stand in the ^vay. 

' * It is so difficult to learn. I have always been at the foot of 
the class. I just cannot accomplish what I should and want to. 
Everything comes slow. I studied from half-past five mornings 
until half-past eleven evenings. Frequently I stayed at school 
until six 'clock. I did, however, graduate when I was seventeen 
from the grade school. 

' ' I am now taking a normal industrial-training course. I am 
earning my own way. It has been necessary for me to clean cel- 
lars, wash windows, haul coal, carry out furniture. I am now 
working in an apartment-house, hours seven at night to half -past 
seven in the morning, caring for switchboard, boiler, distributing 
papers, and running errands. ' ' 

CASE 9 (WOMAN) 

' ' I am thirty-two, and I wish to go as a foreign missionary. I 
grew tired of the butterfly life about me, and decided to make my 
life count for something. I had so often fallen far short of the 
self that I wanted to be that at the last State convention the 
decision service came to me as a challenge to give myself up en- 
tirely. I am teaching; my mother is entirely dependent upon me 
for support. 

' ' Am I too old to go now to the foreign field, even if I could 
prepare and could have my mother provided for? I do not know 
what to do. I should think there would be some sort of organiza- 
tion which would advise Recruits for what type of work they might 
prepare. ' ' 

CASE 10 (MAN) 

' ' 1 am nineteen, and a sophomore at the State university. I am 
undecided, but think I '11 study law. I became a Eecruit three 
years ago through the influence of my home, principally. My 
father is a minister. In my senior year at high school I was 
elected class president. But I had just become a Eecruit, and, 
when I thought over all my duties, I discovered that I would have 
to take the leading role in planning dances and other questionable 
amusements. I immediately got down on my knees, and asked 



230 RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS 

God to guide me. The next day my prayer was answered. I called 
a special meeting of the class, and resigned. The class tried to 
argue with me that I could delegate to a committee the dances. 
Their argument was to no avail. After my stand the secretary 
and one other officer also withdrew through my stand for the right. 
' ' I made the varsity football team last fall. I Avant to put my 
life where it will count imost, but I do not believe the ministry is 
the place. I believe I can have a wider influence for Christ in 
the profession of the law, out in the world among men. ' ' 






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